Last night around 10:30 I was beside myself with wanting to go to sleep. I was tired and the slightest bit grumpy and I just wanted to get UP IN THE BED.
But D.’s office / TV room is right below our bedroom, and he and Benji – two 30-something men, mind you – were playing XBox downstairs with the surround speakers cranked up to OH MY SWEET MERCY THE WALLS ARE SHAKING, and about once every two minutes I heard some variation of “HEY!” or “WHOA!” or “OHHHHHH – I GOT YA!” or, when it really got good,
“THAT!
WAS!
AWESOME!”
And even though I was tired, and even though I was practically dreaming of sleeping, no way – NO WAY – would I have gone downstairs and asked them to be quiet or turn it down. No way.
Because hearing them have so much fun makes me way too happy. And they were having much fun indeed.
One of the biggest blessings in my life is that I can honestly say that I love my husband’s friends. Maybe it’s because D. and I have such similar senses of humor, but the guys he hangs out with are people I’d hang out with, too. There’s not a single friend whose character I question. Or who I’d mind being on vacation with us. Or – even better for me – whose wife I don’t love just as much.
D. probably has four or five friends who he talks to on a regular basis, but only a couple of them live here in town. So when he gets to see them for any extended period of time, I try to make it as easy on them as I can. No pleas from me to do anything other than what they want to do. No demands on their time. No task on the honey-do list that can’t wait until another weekend.
The funniest thing about D. and Benji is that they speak some cryptic guy language indecipherable to Brandie and me. One of them can say, “Hey. Look. Corn.” and they’ll both fall over laughing, while Brandie and I just stare at them, wondering what in the world is the cause for such hysterics. Friday night at supper the topic of Benji going to the dentist came up, and within about two minutes B. and D. were giggling like a couple of second grade boys who just heard someone say the word “bootie.”
I still have no idea what was so funny.
Their time together has been a little different this visit because there are a couple of little boys who want to be with their daddies every waking second. Who want to watch them play video games. Who want to hang out on the deck and grill. Who want to scream “WHOA” and “NO WAY” just like the big boys do. And I think that D. and Benji haven’t minded the inconvenience too much, because it makes them grateful that their boys look up to them like they do. It’s affirmation that they’re doing their daddy jobs well.
But since the big boys have let the little boys hang out with them so much, Brandie and I ran interference this afternoon so that B. and D. could have some uninterrupted time to play video games that little eyes don’t necessarily need to see. Games with machine guns and blood and stuff. And a little while ago, when the big guys finally came upstairs to join the rest of us, the little guys nearly jumped through the roof. And as I watched Alex and P. run in circles while Benji and D. were cracking one liners in the kitchen – one liners that made no sense to me whatsoever – I thought about what a different world they inhabit.
It’s a world where there’s a visceral need to see things explode and burn and shatter (even if it’s just on XBox). A world where something you can plug in is an object of instant fascination. A world where words are fewer and noises are most definitely louder. Not to mention funnier. And a world where something that plugs in and produces loud noises is, well, gold.
I am so very thankful, in ways I can’t even explain, for reasons I can’t even articulate, that D. has some great, godly friends who walk through that world with him.
And I hope I never take that – or them – forgranted.
Oh our husbands would have a blast together! I too am blessed with a husband whos friends I would carry anywhere- and I adore each and everyone of their wives…
Isnt God good!
-H
Your devotion to your husband is such a blessing. How wonderful to be friends with the person you married and with his friends. Great example for Alex.
What a wonderful post! So many men have a hard time really connecting with others, so it really is a blessing when they find an xbox-inside-joke-act-like-kids-together kind of friendship.
Oh, and I just wanted to let you know that I am loving your blog. Your sense of humor and your writing style just draw me right in. I’m glad I found you! :)
This post really hits home with me…my husband LOVES his Xbox and I spent the big bucks and bought him the new 360 for Chritmas. He plays Xbox every free chance he gets and he plays it online…so I get to hear his friends all the time. I guess it’s a good thing I love my hubbies friends, too!
It’s funny that I just read this post, literally minutes after my husband put down his PSP (I have no idea what that stands for but I know it’s some sort of handheld video game) and said one word: “Addictive.”
And I think it’s also funny that a post about a husband playing video games and shouting can be so sweet. But it is. You’re a good example to the rest of us :)
It is awesome that you support your husband and his friends to the point of lack of sleep…that is true love,,,that is self sacrifice. Cool.
That is indeed a blessing. How cool is that! It’s hard for my hubby to have friends like that – so it is an area I pray for. Yes, the boys do need to play! And praise God when they are godly men who surround him.
Thankfully – my hubby gets along great with my two brothers, and they (in my hubmle, objective oppinion) are a blast!
I should have added that once I got in the bed, I went to sleep with no problem. Exploding cars / tanks / bombs and all. :-) So it wasn’t really much of a sacrifice. An hour, at most.
Bless your little heart – D has got a gem on his hands! A mama sacrificing sleep is nothin’ to mess around with, whether it’s 5 mins. or an hour. :)
I bet you love that sound of laughter coming from your husband and his friends. My husband doesn’t have any friends he hangs out with and I would love him to find that fun. That’s what I’m praying for.
Good friends are usually attracted to good friends, so this says a lot for your hubby, Boo.
Laughter = good
xBox = questionable (yeah, we have one, too.)
Hi! I’m new here, but I just had to comment. Thank you for this reminder of how uniquely God has created men and women. It’s great to see you embrace these differences; I know I should definitely be doing more of this.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful, funny, sweet thoughts with all of us! :)
What a hoot! My hubby didn’t make firends growing up- kindof a loner due to family circumstances. But, I’ll tell ya- God placed our baby girl, then boy in his arms and changed that man’s heart! I’m so glad to see you have a wonderful man, who can still be a boy. Aren’t we blessed?
Wow, what an awesome post. I have to say that I’m a bit envious though. My husband has only two friends that live nearby and they are both athiests. They don’t spend too much time together because the only thing they have in common is their choice in music, movies and the fact that they went to college together. I pray everyday that we find some fabulous couples that we can fellowship with and share some fun with too! Thanks for the inspiration.
How refreshing and what a blessing it is to read a post such as this. So many wives in this world today could take a lesson…..I, too, am blessed with an incredible marriage and yeah, I like my husband’s friend’s wives too!
Have a great day!
I gotta say I’m a little green with envy in this department. My beloved hubby dosen’t have a tight knit relationship with any one friend. Has tons of aquaintency type relationships but not a “best friend” kind of thing. I’ve always wanted that for him. Probably ’cause I’d love to be close friends with the wife?!
Thank you so much. I needed that today.