I Was Smiling From Ear-To-Ear…

Posted on February 3, 2015 Updated on February 3, 2015

Two peas in a pod.

It’s fun to watch two friends interact when the friendship is a close one. For me, it was especially fun to watch my son Aaron and his pal David playing together as they attacked each adventure. From day one these two little-men forged a bond that would last a life time.

David and his mom Terri had come over on that first day. It was an interview to see if this was the right fit for him since day-care was needed. Both David and Aaron were less than two at the time, so no one really knew if they would actually hit it off.

Marm and Terri were busy hashing out all the business details while these two had the opportunity to hang out…and hang out they did. Instantly they clicked. No sooner were the ladies inside the back door of the house and Aaron and David were running off together laughing and jabbering like old friends. This laughing and jabbering has never stopped.

It never really mattered what they were up to, it was just that they had the best time doing it together. They were inseparable.

I have witnessed them playing inside the house, outside in the yard, and tormenting their sisters to no end. These two rascals were fun to watch. I have scads of memories from these two. (More on that in later posts.) Oddly enough, one of my favorite memories of these fellows took over twenty years to complete. The greatest satisfaction actually came at the end.

Like so many boys do when they’re young, they loved to play army. Wrong, right, or indifferent, they loved getting dressed up in all their gear. They had real and fake camo green helmets, packs, belts, and weapons: rifles, pistols, and swords of course. It never mattered one bit that the weapons weren’t accurate period pieces. They were well armed and that’s all that counted.

They would run whooping and hollering at the top of their lungs while making loops around the open yard pretending to be on a mission of some sort or another. They were fighting an imaginary foe of magnificent strength. They would yell and shout as they bravely charged in attack while brandishing their swords and waving their guns wildly in the air. Just as suddenly they would fall back in full retreat when the enemy blinded-sided their assault from the flank and the imaginary battle turned against them. Over and over and over again they would re-enact one mock battle after another.

Observing these childhood activities was more than enough for me. My arsenal of fond memories lacked for nothing. These boys were a joy to be around, or better yet, watch play.

Sadly, all of these things came to an end all too soon. The boys had grown and those cherished toys from the glory days in the army were no longer needed and were left haphazardly in their rooms collecting dust. Eventually, Aaron’s army gear ended up in a box, over in a corner, up in our attic, with all the other relics that were part of his childhood. There they slept.

As is with life, these boys became men. They had grown up and were now their own masters. They owned their own homes, had their own wives, had real jobs, real cars, real monthly payments. So, in honor of their great independence it was only befitting that we bequeathed to them their proper due. Simply said, it was time for Aaron to come get all of his junk out of our attic. We wanted the space back for our junk, thank-you-very-much!

He knew there was quite the pile of history up there, and being the bright man he is, he had the presence of mind to have David come over and help him with the move.

I was there to help too, but most of the work was going to be done by these robust young studs. They were having quite the time pawing through the mess of things when suddenly one of them stumbled across the box with the ol’ army gear in it.

It was like being in a time machine. Right in front of my eyes these two full-grown men dissolved into two little boys gearing up for war again. It…was…impressive! It was scary, actually!

In and amongst those toys the “boys” were once again pulling out the helmets, packs, belts, and weapons. They put all of it back on and were instantly reliving the glory days. It was a sight to behold. I have to tell you it actually brought tears to my eyes as I watched them.  Once again they were those two little guys from by-gone years. They had stepped back in time, if you will, and were those best of best friends that only a childhood spent together could produce, and I was smiling from ear-to-ear.