OUR JOURNEY IN CAMO SHELLY HUHTANEN 

The Extraordinary and Unusual

Broden was experiencing change. Change is inevitable, but in Broden's world it's still a tough pill to swallow.

Last week, after relaxing on my couch after dinner, I decided to head into the kitchen and grab something sweet to eat. The pantry door was open. The silverware drawer was open and the cupboard door, where we store the plates and bowls, was open. My kitchen looked like it had been raided by bandits, “What in the world? Broden’s been in the kitchen.” Mark got off the couch, walked over and closed the pantry door while I was straightening up the kitchen. There were three spoons placed in a line along the edge of the sink. I examined the spoons like a detective in a Sherlock Holmes movie, “Looks like he grabbed the frosting out of the fridge and used three different spoons to eat the frosting”. Mark opened the fridge door and looked inside, “We are probably the only ones in the neighborhood who have four con

tainers of Pillsbury frosting in their fridge right now. All four of them are the same flavor of frosting and are all 75% full." I reorganized the fridge and lined the frosting containers along the side of the top shelf, knowing that Broden would be looking for those again the next day.

That night, "Huhtanen Land" continued to shift into a more unusual sense of reality after Broden's bedtime ritual. About 20 minutes after putting Broden to bed, we heard the pitter patter of feet. Mark and I lifted our heads and rolled over to look at each other. Mark whispered, "Do you hear that?" The sound of water running in the bathroom echoed through the hallway. I whispered

back, “Is he in the bathroom? Didn’t he go to the bathroom before bed? Is he playing in the sink?” Under Mark’s breath I heard, “Are you kidding me?” He ripped the comforter off his body and jumped out of bed, “Broden, go to bed. Stop playing in the sink. It’s time for bed. Shut the door.” Broden yelled back, “Door!” I heard the door shut. Mark came back into the room and cracked the door so we could monitor the hallway. I crammed ear plugs in my ears, so I could try to sleep and pretend that I had no idea what was going on outside of the bedroom. I selfishly thought, “Mark’s got it. I’m out.”

The next morning at 5 am, Mark and I slid out of bed and opened our bedroom door into the hallway. A pile of Broden's

BROTHERS IN ARMS: Hayden and Broden on the front porch. Hayden was able to come home from college for Fall Break.