Help Needed! Boys to Men

I have to give them both the benefit of the doubt. Bill has been working 80 hours a week. Kyle has had something every night of the week and had co-op all day. They were tired! It was late Thursday night and both wanted to get to sleep but Kyle was going camping tonight and is the "Grub Master" for his patrol for the camp out. I know it sounds like a glamorous job! Ask any boy at camp and I am sure it's the most important job, buying and bringing all the food. He has done it before and it is a great experience, shopping on a budget and organizing the food. One thing I learned last time was to really read the menu carefully. Remember, pre-teen and teen boys planning a menu as a group. We were almost ready to check out last time when I looked at the list and realized they planned to have peanut butter and jelly and hamburgers over the weekend, but had no bread or buns on the list. Simple yet critical oversights.

So, off went Bill and Kyle to Meijer at 9:30 last night. Five minutes later Bill calls.

Bill -"Have you seen the menu?"
Me - "Yes, why?"
Bill - "Kyle needs to choose and plan 2 desserts to cook. There are no quantities for anything. No number of how many boys in the patrol. We're coming home."
Me -"Can't you just figure it out in the car in the parking lot," I suggested, seemed like a logical choice.
Bill - "Do you have 2 dessert recipes that you can cook in a Dutch Oven off the top of your head?" he asks.

I'm a dessert expert but I am not a camper. I have not a clue, other than boiling water what to make in a dutch over over a fire.

Being "Grub Master" gave Kyle some freedom to choose the desserts but he also had to find them. This requires looking on one of the scout web sites for some creative Dutch oven recipe that basically consists of "dump it all in and stir".

They arrive home and start looking on line, choose their recipes, make the list, and double check for bread and buns. Interesting conversation to observe!

Bill - "How are you going to make grilled cheese?"
Kyle - "Put cheese on bread."
Bill - "Where is the butter or margarine on your list?"
Kyle - "It's not."
Bill - "How do you plan to make the grilled cheese?"
Kyle - "Put the cheese on the bread and cook it."
Bill - "You need butter to "grill" the bread, otherwise you either have a cold cheese sandwich or
a mess."
Kyle -(laughing) " Oh, guess we better get some margarine"

And so the conversation went on for about 15 minutes. Hilarious would be an accurate description! Good thing Bill has a lot of patience for this!

Out the door they go at 9:50. Ethan and I are busy playing cards in our jammies ready to go to bed. The phone rings at 10:35.

Bill - "I forgot my wallet and we are in the middle of checking out. I need you to run it over here."
Me - " Where is your wallet, it's not on the counter?"
Bill - " I don't know, just being me yours."

Yea, right. I find the wallet, grab my coat and shoes, and fly out the door in my pajamas, 3 minutes down the street to Meijer. I told Ethan he was in charge of the sleeping girls and took off before it could register that Kyle was not home as I think he might have freaked out.

I fly into the parking lot and Bill comes out the door so I thankfully didn't have to go in wearing my fleece jammie pants. Kyle was inside doing self check out.

All I could think on the drive home was:

• Thank God Meijer built a store 3 minutes from our house.
• Please don't let me get pulled over for speeding, while in my jammies with Ethan holding down the fort.
• God help me, like father, like son! No wonder Bill was so patient with the incomplete list!

They made it home by 11pm. Only went $2 over budget. Put everything away and we all collapsed into our beds.

I love these guys they never cease to entertain me! It is so fun to watch Kyle become a teenager. He really couldn't have a better role model, forgotten wallet and all!