Friendship Formed in a Foxhole

Thanksgiving came and it was glorious--delicious food at Uncle John's house, shared with the entire family.  After grub, Isaac, Colby, Myles, Little Anthony (who is not so little), and I ventured outside in the cold and the mist to wage an epic Nerf battle.  We brought some guns...er...blasters and Colby and Myles did as well.  After a few games of capture the flag where one team one in a landslide we had to change things up.  It was at this intermission that my buddy Ethan joined me.  The teams were: Colby, Ethan, and myself versus Myles, Isaac, and Little Anthony.  It wasn't too bad, except only two of our blasters were working, and one was in Ethan's hand (who can't prime the blaster or reach the trigger because of his tiny chubby hands).  Then Coby had to go in because he forgot a jacket.  So when opposing team started raiding us, it was Ethan and myself versus three pretty competent kids.  

Ethan refused to be left out of the action.  When we went to raid their base and take their flag, Ethan came with me.  When we had to hold off three of them with one working blaster, Ethan hung in there, chasing more than a few people away with his tiny blaster (Little Anthony and Myles don't know he is too little to actual fire the blaster).  And when darts (or as Ethan calls them bulldats) were flying he hung in there.  In the end we lost, but it was closer than I thought.

It is so amazing to see Ethan wanting to hang out with the boys.  He soldiered on in his tiny little parka pointing his useless blaster at people.  It was even more heartening to see how well the boys treated Ethan.  Colby was especially sweet.  And now I know who will have my back when I am 85 years old...my buddy Ethan.