Taking in Strays

We've adopted a soldier.  Or maybe he adopted us.  Either way, he's awful adorable.  He's not even old enough to buy beer, yet, but he's old enough to go to war.  Isn't that screwed up?  He's one of the 11Bs that was with B over in Afghanistan, and he's so ridiculously comical.  I was laughing so hard at him last night that I was literally crying from it.  I referred to him in an earlier post as Pup.  When he first came over to be introduced to me the day he came home, he was saying how much nicer the apartment is than barracks, and how he'd be our dog, sleep in the back yard, and bark when strangers came too close.  So he's my Puppy.  He says he's waiting for his chew toy.  Don't think I won't give him one if I can find out when his birthday is!  lol!

He's crude, and crass, and completely inappropriate in a way that is extremely comical and endearing.  But at the same time, he's polite, considerate, helpful, and sweet.  We've been bullying him into dinner whenever he's over around the time I start to cook (though there really isn't much bullying involved truthfully.  He's a young male.  That means he's chronically hungry :-P).  He said "I feel like such a s***bag right now.  I'm eating all your food, taking up floor space, and just being a general nuisance."  B and I both argued that he wasn't, because we like having him around.  He's fun. There's also not much in the way of a kitchen in single soldier's quarters.  They have one, but it's not very user friendly, and besides there aren't that many 19-20 year old guys that know much about cooking.  There are some, but it's not a norm.  So, he decided to chip in on groceries, and come eat with us regularly.  I guess eventually, maybe, we might boot him out for some quiet time to ourselves, but he's really a considerate kid.  We usually call him to tell him to bring his butt home for dinner, or let him know we're cooking and see if he wants to come over.  Heck, he washes his dishes off, helps put up leftovers, and takes out the trash.  No one asked him to, he just volunteered.  B said he's going to have to step up his game, because he can't have his boys coming over and making him look bad lol.

Pup's folks are all out in Arizona, too.  So he doesn't really have anyone around here to make sure he eats right, and I think he's lonely.

He also reminds me a lot of my youngest brother, only with a little more piss and vinegar added in.

I also think he's good for B to have around.  B gets restless, and he starts to let the perceived pile of things we have to do weigh on him.  He mulls them around and around in his head until they seem overwhelming and he has no idea where to start.  Pup's a great distraction.  We spend entirely too much time laughing to worry about much, and the distraction lets B reorganize his head some without actually having to think about reorganizing.

He's a good kid.  I think I'll keep him.