When I was looking through pictures that Dennis had sent me from Afghanistan, I noticed a little black and white stuffed animal in a few of them. I asked him what it was and he told me that it was "combat monkey." While in Afghanistan, one of Dennis' marines named Michael received a care package full of stuffed animals. I'm not sure what the reason was, maybe to give to the local children... Either way, Combat Monkey was adopted and went on every patrol that Dennis and Michael went on. He either stayed in Dennis' pocket, his backpack, in Michael's pocket or on the dashboard of the humvee. He was their 'good luck charm.' Seeing something like a monkey beanie baby pop up in pictures here and there made laugh, which definitely helped a little knowing that even though Dennis was in a combat zone there was still time for fun.
A few weeks ago, I asked Dennis if Combat Monkey had made it back to Hawaii. He asked Michael, and sure enough Michael still had him. I couldn't help but think how fitting it would be to have Combat Monkey in our post-Afghanistan-deployment-baby's-monkey-themed-nursery. Today, Michael brought Combat Monkey to our house and he has now taken his place on Charlie's shelf. One day we'll tell Charlie all about his daddy's time in Afghanistan and how that monkey was with him on the other side of the world.
