The Best Pranks Come to Those Who Wait

Over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I went car camping. We both took our Enlightened Equipment quilts to sleep in, and I was in charge of packing up the tent when it was time to leave the Hart Mountain Hot Springs Campground. I giggled in the tent as I packed those quilts, because while Ambrose was busy packing the stuff outside the tent, and carrying things to the car from the tent, I stuck his quilt into a sleeping bag sack, and then stuffed my own quilt inside on top of it.

To casual eyes, mine would be the only thing inside. Only my orange and gray, shiny-silky fabric would show from the drawstring's hole. I imagined that this would stymie Ambrose for a few minutes when he unpacked the quilts to air them out on the porch. That's our standard operating procedure - go backpacking or camping, and then air out the gear that can't go in the washing machine, like the tent and the sleeping pads - and the quilts!

Imagine, now, my complete and total shock to find out on October 5th that my husband had spent several days in the last week contemplating how to tell me that he had lost his quilt and that we would need to find the budget to replace the $500 piece of extremely warm, extremely lightweight, professional backpacking gear.

Days. Days he had been mulling this difficult topic over.

And he didn't say a word to me about it.

Until October 5th, when he told me that he had found his quilt.

I laughed, until he told me how worried he had been. Okay, I also laughed after that. But I did feel a little bad that he was so worried.

I also felt a little bit in awe of myself. I tend to spoil the joke by giving it away. But this time, I laid down a solid little joke, and let it be. I hadn't thought about it much since the day I packed the two quilts away like that. When he didn't say anything about it, maybe I had a thought or two that he didn't notice. But I didn't really consider it.

This time, I had let my trap lay without paying it any overt attention, and I had completely tricked my dear, older and wiser, husband.

He really needs to be more careful about teaching me his tricks.