Hump Day

Last weekend I headed west, for the first time since Thanksgiving, at which point I had decided that I would not likely go again, because of the stress under which I spent the holiday weekend. I made the decision to go this time because my #1boy had been asked (and agreed) to be part of a re-enactment team for the Fort Stockton Sesquicentennial celebration. He was part of the Texas Camel Corps, and had marched over 50 miles from Fort Lancaster toward Fort Stockton. They wore period-correct uniforms (other than underwear & shoes). Yeah, they marched for about 5 days, in the Texas sun, (fortunately, it’s been a relatively cool fall, so at least it wasn’t hugely hot) in wool pants and jackets. He DID get a touch of heat exhaustion, but he didn’t pass out or anything. I’m proud as hell of him, and I know his blood kin is as well. We had no less than 5 people tell us how awesome the boy is. Doug, who is the camel rancher that runs the Camel Corps treks said he fully expected to have to provide some help to the boy, as he is technically ‘disabled’, however he was amazed at the boy’s ability to not just pull his own weight, but also to pitch in and help wherever an extra hand was needed. The baby is not a baby anymore, he will be 3 in just a couple of months, and that’s hard to believe. He’s cute as all get out, and smart as a whip. Once he starts really talking, I’m guessing we’re ALL in trouble! Not all of his jabbering is particularly understandable, but we got along just fine, and he seemed to accept my attempts to understand him, even if I wasn’t exactly right. Anytime I asked him a question, he answered appropriately, sometimes verbally, sometimes with a shake or nod of the head. I did notice that he talked to me more than he did Darla, but that may be a conditioned response, in that his screeching generally manages to get him the response, whether it be to give him food/drink/toy, whatever, from the people who live with him, if just to get him to shut the hell up, so why should he bother articulating it. I didn’t respond to the screaming, and insisted that he tell me what it was that he wanted, instead of just pointing and hollering. I did learn, that in his vocabulary, “please” is “peas-tanks”. At least he has manners, right? I have concluded that there will only be 1 more trip out there, at least while they are living in the town they are currently in, and that will be at the end of May for graduation. There’s just BAAAD Karma in that town, and it’s just entirely too exhausting for me emotionally to keep my chin up and keep a decent mood while I am there.