Getting thrown under the bus

A quick recap of something funny that happened on the way to Iraq! Before M. left, he organized some things to take to Iraq to help remind him of friends and family...pictures, that sort of thing. Among the things he took was a compass I gave him shortly before he left. During a phone call last week, he mentioned that he took it out of his pocket while they were all waiting to get on the flight downrange. Apparently, it sparked a conversation among the guys around him about their wives and missing them. So, they started to compare stories about the things they'd done to get ready to be away for a year. There was the usual stuff: some people spent extra time with their spouses, took special trips or finished up household projects before deploying. Important things, but for the most part, pretty straightforward, simple gestures. So, all of this is being discussed when LTC K. chimed in with his contribution to getting ready for the separation from his wife, A. While on leave in the states a few weeks back, LTC K. visited (apparently several!) Hallmark stores, purchased 52 romantic cards and addressed each to his wife. He then presented them to her with instructions to open one card every Sunday. M. said that they were all like, "Oh no....you didn't..." I think it's safe to say that he was the only one who thought of that! And with that one story, M. and I agreed, that LTC K. managed to throw several of the husbands under the romantic gesture bus! Doh!