Saturday, February 24, 2007

Conversations

My eldest son (in basic training with the Canadian Armed Forces) is now allowed to use his cell phone to call home on weekends.

Now that his calls are longer, he speaks to both parents — separately. The conversations are quite different.

I ask about his blistered feet (still blistered), what’s he’s learning, how he’s feeling about it all, when he can next visit and we chat about what’s going on at home.

He and his father discuss the nitty-gritty. Weapons training. His rifle. How he is now using live ammunition.

The enthusiastic details as to this new skill are something he and I don’t dwell upon in our conversations.

Don’t get me wrong. Mom is thrilled to know he is doing very well in this regard.

In fact, Mom would be terrified (more terrified?) to hear that he wasn’t.

8 comments:

oreneta said...

Gack! That would be a tough conversation. How is your husband feeling about it all?

Glad he can call home more often.

It is fascinating the different conversations we have with different people..subtle aspect changes of ourselves.

Angel said...

ya, I would think that you'd want him to be FREAKIN FANTASTIC at shooting things/people!!!! as long as it's the enemy....but I wouldn't want to talk about it all the time. One time would be enough for me.

"Mom, I got the highest score in sniper school today."

"That's fantastic honey....are you eating? staying warm? are you regular?"

Beth said...

oreneta: I think these different conversations have to do with that "male" thing. I just can't get enthusiastic about guns and what they are meant for.

beth: You got it. I'm okay hearing about it - just can't dwell on it. Good thing he can do that with his father.

Anonymous said...

Funny, we have the same sort of conversation regarding homework. I'm all "how do you feel about the assignment?" and dad is all "look son...y=mx+b blah blah blah"

Glad he can call more often :)

The Guy Who Writes This said...

Was your husband in the military?

If he told you about the guns I'm sure you'd say something like, "Now don't you point that at any one..."

Beth said...

trish:
Moms and Dads. Feelings and facts.
And, yeah, I am so happy he's able to call more often!

guy: Weird that you mentioned that. When he told me how well he was doing with the rifle, I actually said, "Well, I don't want you pointing any gun at me." (I was kidding. Kind of.)
No, my husband wasn't in the military. It's not a family tradition - except for those who served in World War 1 and II.

Unknown said...

I don't think my wife would want to hear any of that, either. In fact, I know she wouldn't. I don't think she even wants my boy to have a water pistol.

Beth said...

dorky dad: I've discovered that while you can keep the plastic toy guns from little boys, they often end up fashioning guns out of sticks, their own fingers, etc.
(Males - hardwired for weapon use?)