War

There's going to be a war. A declaration has been made, and the armies are preparing for battle. It shall be a CARDBOARD war.

A few young men from our church heard of this concept from another youth group, so they are sponsoring a cardboard war. I can't lie to you here, and pretend to explain how this is going to be fun. I have no idea. But I do know that Hannah and I are the only ones in this house who can't seem to figure it out. Everyone else is counting the minutes until Saturday, Duel Day. Oh, and assuring me that it is "probably" going to be safe.

We were instructed to make weapons and armor using ONLY paper, cardboard and duct tape. The invitation came to us several weeks ago, and despite the cardboard war hype and hysteria in this house, I kept procrastinating. Truth be told, I was completely unqualified and "mildly" disinterested in paper weaponry. I kept piling those empty Cheerio boxes in the recycle stack, fending off the guilt of not fashioning them into helmets or spears. As usual, when things came down to the wire, timing got really bad and I was wishing like crazy I would have dealt with this sooner. Buzzard left for Europe on a business trip, and I was suddenly here alone and left with a terrible choice. I could pony up to the box cutter and duct tape, or I could beg my children to be deserters. So I begged.

I probably need not detail for you the futility of my pleading. They made it abundantly clear. We're going to war.

This household was crazy this week. Seriously crazy. Because while some of us were buzzing around Scandinavia, the rest of us were muddling through head colds and a packed schedule. Too harried to even blog. :( That is the sad song I sang to some sweet teenagers from church, who took mercy on me and agreed to give us a cardboard tutorial and jump start our arsonry. I was so obliged. Buzzard landed in town just in time to pick up four large pizzas and meet us at church. Call me a duct tape dynamo. I am two shields, two swords, and half a breast plate into this project, and frankly, I'm unstoppable.

Those teenage boys seemed very large to me last night. The ones who will be charging toward my small boys on Saturday. I felt the need to beef up their armor, and insist on bicycle helmets. It's going to be a busy day today. We need to hurry and finish our homeschool lessons so we can get to Home Depot for more tape. We're in this war to win.

I have shared on this blog many times how the Lord is using my journey through motherhood to share with me the blessings of boyhood. He perfectly designed my young warriors to be fighters; fierce and brave and even a tad wild. I'm in uncharted territory here, and most everything feels new and unfamiliar to me, but I keep thanking the Lord that He saw me fit to raise these modern day knights. My next challenge along this path will be to lead them into battle. Or at least drive them there in a minivan.

I'll be the one on the sidelines, with the band aids, the ice packs, and the battle snacks.