[too SHy]

This incident (among many others) always come up for me. We lived in a very rural area when some drunks drove into the next field and started shooting at ravens overhead. My small son was with me at the woodpile and was climbing up it when I heard a bullet whirrs past my head. We were all alone except my baby daughter was in her crib in the house. I screamed for my son to get down but he kept climbing higher. I figured if I were hit I could not help any of us. The wood would keep falling so I could not get to my son. I ran to the house and called the state police. The drunks left and thankfully no one was hurt. Did I make the right decision?

[-jimi-]

I think you feel bad for acting in the most rational way. Oddly enough. I'm glad you were both OK.

[Miswimmy1]

I'm glad everyone was ok. I don't think you should torment yourself with "what ifs". I know thats hard to do, but you can't change the past. I think you should focus on the positives- that you are all ok.

[healingme4me]

I am going to say, yes, you made the right decision. Fortunately, neither you, nor your son were hurt. If, g-d forbid, he'd been hurt, you needed to call asap, as it were. So, you, made the right decision.

[SilverNeurotic]

You did the right thing, and probably the only thing. Everything worked out so try to focus on that.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It happened the way it happened and there's no way to change that.
I'm not seeing anything you could have done differently that would matter. It's time to let it go.

[Blah_zey]

Sometimes we disappoint ourselves and admonish what appears like a selfish decision. There is a reason airplane stewards tell you to affix your own oxygen mask before helping anyone next to you. Your instincts were right here. It could have ended very differently had you not heard that first bullet whirr.

What eats at our core is that over whelming fearful thought that a child could ever be taken from us. Its unbearable to imagine and i marvel at anyone who can endure such a loss. You are blessed.

[jan16th]

Originally Posted by too SHy

This incident (among many others) always come up for me. We lived in a very rural area when some drunks drove into the next field and started shooting at ravens overhead. My small son was with me at the woodpile and was climbing up it when I heard a bullet whirrs past my head. We were all alone except my baby daughter was in her crib in the house. I screamed for my son to get down but he kept climbing higher. I figured if I were hit I could not help any of us. The wood would keep falling so I could not get to my son. I ran to the house and called the state police. The drunks left and thankfully no one was hurt. Did I make the right decision?

Absolutely........no need to second guess your actions.

[too SHy]

thank you all for the input. I guess the torment of it was that I chose to leave my son to get help, plus my daughter in the house was gut wrenching, Thank you so much

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by too SHy

This incident (among many others) always come up for me. We lived in a very rural area when some drunks drove into the next field and started shooting at ravens overhead. My small son was with me at the woodpile and was climbing up it when I heard a bullet whirrs past my head. We were all alone except my baby daughter was in her crib in the house. I screamed for my son to get down but he kept climbing higher. I figured if I were hit I could not help any of us. The wood would keep falling so I could not get to my son. I ran to the house and called the state police. The drunks left and thankfully no one was hurt. Did I make the right decision?

only you can decide whether you made the right decision or not because it happened to you and because you are the one in your location that knows what your laws, rights and responsibilities are....let me give you an example...

here in the city I live in it is illegal to shoot off a gun, doesnt matter if its your own gun and your own back yard, but it is not illegal to protect yourself by shooting a gun off at someone trying to harm you, here in the city. upstate in many towns and cities it is not illegal to shoot off a gun during certain times of the year, like right now its deer hunting season. some people sit in their back yard and shoot into the woods at the deer. during small game (rabbit, racoons...)season its not illegal to shoot off a gun. people in NY know when the hunting seasons are and know that you wear bright colors when outside or reflective tape on their jackets so that even if hunters come close to someone elses property they can see whats a person vs whats the hunted animal.

if what happened to you happened to me right now it would have done no good to call the police because its hunting season. guns are going to be shot off. if I had called the police I would have been asked do you know whether it was a hunter or if it was someone actually trying to kill you? I would have been asked whether I had posted the no trespassing signs that let hunters know they are approaching private land that is not up for being hunted upon. it would have been up to me to find out who that was in the woods so close to my wood pile and child, contact them and make them aware that they came too close to my property.

Again only you know what is right and wrong in your location so only you know whether you did the right thing or the wrong thing or what should you have done.

[too SHy]

amandalouise, well I understand, what you mean. It is illegal to shoot ravens,here as well as pigeons, magpies, even sparrows, etc. These fine fellows were drunken stupid jerks. They probably would never have been caught, and if they were, they're the cops cousins or whatever. Oh, well...