Update

Well it’s been ten days since Caleb left for water survival and survival and it’s been busy!  Here’s  a picture of me helping Caleb pack:

Over Christmas, Delta completely mangled the zipper on our previous suitcase so I bought a replacement.  All the suitcases available seemed to jump from carry-on to this huge size.  I got it home and opened it up and thought: wow, I bet I could fit in that!  I thought of first grade when one of my classmates was going to Disneyland and my teacher said, “Oh, Zach, we want to go too!  Can we hide in your suitcase?” in that high-pitched voice many adults use when speaking to children.  Well, now I know that being a stowaway would not be a comfortable way to travel, not even for five minutes.  Best to buy your own ticket to Disneyland.

And here’s a picture of the pretty roses Caleb sent for Valentine’s Day:

To look at these now, you would not believe me if I told you that when they arrived, they were closed up so tightly they were only a little bigger than my thumb.  I thought they were mini-roses.  But, as you can see, they opened up!  I’d never seen that transition, so I was in awe.

I’m sure you’re all interested to hear about Caleb.  In fact, you probably wish I would stop blathering on about first grade and write about all the cool stuff Caleb gets to do.

So far Caleb has mostly been in the classroom, staring at Powerpoint presentations, about which I haven’t gotten much detail.  The two most interesting things I’ve heard so far were from “lab time” in the pool for water survival. They have one device that simulates being rescued from water by helicopter, so you have to get in whatever type of harness it has then sit there and be lifted.  I would think if you’d been stranded at sea for an extended amount of time, the least they could do would be to get down in the water and do everything for you, but I don’t know.  I suppose the circumstances vary.

The other device simulates a plane crashing into water, and you have to get out of the plane underwater and swim to a life raft, in your heavy uniform and boots.  I thought that sounded terrifying and miserable.  Caleb said it was no big deal.

Other than that, he did another Unarmed Combat course yesterday afternoon( I think he’s now done two at the Academy, one in Alabama, and one yesterday--so don’t mess with him!) and heads into “the field” i.e., the forest, today.  He says it’s been cold.  I told him to think about the soldiers at Valley Forge.  Come to think of it, I bet it gets colder in the Cascades than in Pennsylvania.