Boys will be boys

I finally heard from my favoritest husband yesterday morning!

He had a lot to tell me about his adventures last weekend- sand storms, flooding, paying the equivalent of 320 Afghani dollars for a watermelon and a Red Bull! He is obviously enjoying his new position of leadership.

I was very intrigued to hear how he and his men passed the many hours they spent in the trucks.

I should have known better.

Apparently, the boys play this little game similar to Encore. Starting with the letter 'a', each person has to come up with a movie title until they have exhausted their list. The last person who can think of a movie for that letter wins that round.... and then it's on to letter 'b'. One letter takes an average of 30 minutes, thereby supplying these brave nomads with approximately 13 hours of fun.

Seriously?!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The male capacity to create "fun" out of highly unlikely situations is beyond the capability of my brain to grasp. For example, Dan asked his mom to mail him his large Bible and his stuffed monkey to Afghanistan once he got there. Apparently, there wasn't enough room in his bag, since he and the other boys had bought baseballs and packed their baseball gloves. I cannot explain to you how badly I wanted to laugh when he told me that he had had a great day playing "catch" with his new friends. This was the same group featured in some pictures that Dan sent me today-a group of tough-looking characters in ACU's with intense, focused faces as they sat in a circle studying their... UNO cards?!

In my last care package, I sent Dan a game called "What would you rather...?" For this game, a card is read that contains two choices. For example "Would you rather walk around for a year wearing wet jeans or walk around for a month wearing shoes that are 2 sizes too small?" Believe it or not, guys LOVE this game. We women have no time for such ridicuous hypothetical trivialites. But MEN... MEN spend HOURS arguing, analyzing, and conjecturing. Sure enough, Dan said that he brought the game on one of their missions and it kept the boys entertained for quite some time.

I refer to our boys as "our boys" because that's what troops have lovingly been termed for decades. But, I also believe it is a fitting title for them. In one of my military wife books, an author describes these fine specimens of fitness and loyalty as "overgrown boyscouts." She couldn't have been more accurate! The first time Dan took me to his parents' house, he brought me to his room to show me all his cool stuff. I lost him entirely after he uncovered his wrist rocket, airsoft gun, and a rogue marble. He bounded up the stairs with them, put the marble into the wrist rocked, and aimed past my head, out the kitchen door, and directly at the bird feeder on the porch. "Dare me to hit it!!" he pleaded, as I took cover under the kitchen table.

Knowing the male propensity to make lemonade out of lemons, I was amused to receive this request from Dan in one of his letters:

Aaaaanyway, i was thinking it would be funny to do rock drills with something more creative.  We have a vehicle called the Buffalo, and Huskies, and then other trucks.  So could you look for a plastic/stuffed Buffalo (animal) and two plastic/stuffed Huskies (dogs)?  I wouldnt want them to be too big though, but definitely not little miniature things either.  Like maybe the size of a beanie baby or so. Also, i would need four toy trucks total.  Two of those trucks have mine rollers on the front, so i guess if two of the trucks are normal and two are like bulldozers or something to differentiate them from the regular trucks that would be sweeeet. Actually, if theres a way to get a toy ambulance for one of the trucks that would be
awesome, to represent teh vehicle we use to transport casualties. And then I would need a flat-bed semi truck or similar vehicle to represent the trailer/wrecker we have....Lastly, green toy soldiers,
and two regular matchbox cars to represent civilian vehicles (to use in scenarios).

Thank you, Walmart, Toys 'R' Us, Target, and Marco's Emporium for carrying all of these "supplies".

As I prepare for bed,  I imagine what great acts of heroism my husband and the 87th Engineer Company will accomplish today. Perhaps they will disarm a well-concealed roadside bomb, thereby saving the lives of their comrades. Perhaps they will track down a registered terrorist, eliminating just one more threat to freedom and justice. Perhaps my husband's prayers will be answered and he- Daniel J. Filcik- will catch Osama bin Laden, sacrificing his own life as a million hand grenades are thrown at him by opposing forces, and achieving the pinnacle of heroism and bravery. (?!)

In the depths of my soul, however, I know....

I try not to think about the fact-much more probable than the aforementioned scenarios- that they are most likely already awake and out playing with their Matchbox cars....and plastic Huskies... and furry buffalo....

....and I resignedly add "Frisbees" and "Pick-up-sticks" to my list of things to send them...

...and I decide then and there to begin praying that every one of our children will be girls.