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I was just about done packing when I heard Dave shouting.
"What the heck is this?" he bellowed from the kitchen.
"What the heck is what?" I responded helpfully.
I was double checking my list in the bedroom. Toothpaste. Check. Toothbrush. Check.
"This," he repeated, at an even louder decibel. Which I thought impossible.
"I don't know," I said. Deodorant. Check. Corkscrew. Check.
"What the hell????" he said.
Which, in my opinion, did not require an answer. Puzzle book. Check.
Dave entered the bedroom, holing up his golf shirt. It had a big white X on it.
I recognized that big white X.
"What is this?" he repeated.
"An X," I said, stating the obvious. Then, taking an aggressive stance, "Did you put your golf shirt on top of my Bills shirt?"
"I put it on the kitchen counter," he said.
"And apparently, right on top of my Bills shirt!!!!!" I ran into the kitchen to assess the damage. My Bills shirt was relatively intact.
Thank God.
I explained to Dave that the X came from white fabric paint. I had crossed out the "Rex" on my End the Hex Rex Bills shirt with white fabric paint, since Rex Ryan was no longer the Buffalo Bills coach.
It made perfect sense.
But Dave thought it was MY fault that he put his golf shirt atop my Bills shirt.
We had a healthy debate in terms of who was more irresponsible: me for putting my Bills shirt with wet fabric paint on top of the kitchen counter to dry, or him for putting his golf shirt on top of the Bills shirt with the wet fabric paint.
I hadn't planned on taking my Bills shirt to Arizona because the paint was too wet. Which was no longer the case.
Bills shirt. Check.
As I watched Linda pack for Marine Combat training I wondered, "Who is this confident young woman and what did the Marines do with my Linda?"
Since she’d returned from Boot Camp nine days earlier I noticed a LOT of changes, the most endearing of which was a preference for hanging around the family vs. going out with friends.
But the biggest metamorphosis? Her packing skills.
This is how Civilian Linda would pack a suitcase.
Civilian Linda would throw loose items of clothing into a suitcase when packing for a trip. Actually, into multiple suitcases. She would pack 4 times as many things as she’d need because "it was faster that way."
As I watched Marine Linda pack up her gear for Combat Training my jaw dropped.
I watched in awe as she rolled her clothes into burritos. She would start by placing underwear, a sports bra, socks and shorts on top of her t-shirt.
Then she’d fold the sides of the t-shirt over top of the stuff and roll it tightly starting at the top of the t-shirt. When she got to the bottom, she'd magically pulled out the end of the t-shirt to hold the burrito in place.
It was magic.
The nerd inside of me had never been prouder.
Then she asked me for a ruler.
“You want a ruler?” I said, barely able to hide my excitement.
“Never mind,” she said. My disappointment was short-lived as she reached for her own ruler. She had her own ruler.
It should be noted that I couldn’t get Civilian Linda to use a ruler when she was doing algebra homework. She’d freehand the X and Y axes.
Oh how I tried to convince her that it would be SO MUCH EASIER to plot the line y=mx+b if she used a ruler.
Now she had her own ruler.
Marine Linda used her ruler to position the insignia on the front of her uniform.
(Civilian Linda may not have noticed if her t-shirt was on backwards.)
I have to confess that Marine Linda made quite an impact on me.
I was headed out for a walk with Becca at Harbison Lake. But you never know when disaster might strike and a walk at Harbison Lake could turn into an overnight camping trip.
To that end, I created my own emergency burrito pack. But keeping in mind the imptorance of hydration, I made an adjustment.
I'm sure Marine Linda would be very proud.
