In the weeks following a short trip to Africa, my battalion was working hard at recovery tasks as equipment arrived back to Fort Campbell. The week was close to its end. The battalion was gathered in the motor pool waiting for our long weekend closeout to take place. Like any other Thursday before a four-day weekend we’d hear about the battalion’s progress during the week, learn about what else needs to happen in the next week, and eventually hear another one of Sarnt Major’s amazing long weekend safety briefs. It was a terribly hot and humid day in August, the kind of day an NCO might break a sweat while watching the privates sweep around the trucks. I couldn’t wait to be back in the A/C driving home to relax for the weekend. While the privates were looking around the motor pool and inside the trucks for anything out of place or any trash that was missed earlier, someone noticed an odd sound coming from the inside of one of the humvees. We couldn't tell where the sound was coming from at first, but we realized pretty quickly that we could hear a very faint meow coming from one of the trucks. There were no obvious signs of a cat being inside of any particular truck until some more searching was done. Tucked far underneath the driver’s seat of one of the trucks were the noisy kittens. After a few scratches and some impressive contortions another soldier had retrieved three of the smallest kittens I’d ever seen. Before I knew it, myself and two others, who already had pets, were “volun-told” to take the cats home at the end of the day. About a minute later I was handed a cardboard box that held my new pet. I looked inside to get a closer look, and a tiny head tried to look up at me and hiss. I realized after getting closer that this cat was much younger than any other cat I had seen. We decided to put the kittens together in my truck so they could wait in the A/C until formation was over. Once we were released for the weekend, the other two cats were removed from my truck and taken to their new homes. When I left work, I took the kitten straight to the vet. I showed them the cat and they started telling me about how much extra work was needed to take care of such a young cat. The vet told me that by their best guess the kitten must have only been about two or three weeks old. He only had a couple of teeth, and could barely stand on his own. The vet sent me back out with a list of things I’d need and pretty detailed instructions about taking care of the new humvee cat. I came home with cat formula, syringes, and other kitten staples. The new cat needed attention about every hour and didn’t want to be left alone anywhere. So, for the rest of the long weekend a shoebox full of towels, and a sleeping cat accompanied me everywhere I went. Luckily, he wasn’t large enough to climb out of the shoebox so my weekend didn’t change too much. He rode around town with me when I did errands, and even came over to my buddy’s house for a BBQ. In the beginning all he could do was eat and sleep. In the following weeks, he became more and more active and started to show some personality. He couldn’t be happier to have been taken out of a hot and dirty humvee to live in his new home. Almost immediately my older cat took a liking to him, and before we knew it he had fit himself right into everyone’s lives. I didn’t think I wanted another cat at the time, but after taking care of the stray kitten everyone was glad to have him around. He always had a bit of a wild streak in him which was usually good for a laugh. Even my dogs enjoyed having him around. He loved to harass them into playing with him, and when they weren’t playing he could often be found napping with them. The little humvee cat only spent a couple years with my other pets and me, but everyday he reminded me to slow down and be thankful for everything I have. Life in the Army was often frustrating and stressful. Transitioning out was just as stressful and especially daunting. There would always be something to be upset about if I looked for it, but remembering how fortunate I really was helped me every step of the way. Each day it seemed that the cat remembered how lucky he was that he didn’t perish in a hot humvee one weekend in August. Each day I was reminded how lucky I was to have the opportunities I did. Each day I was reminded how a small act from one person can have a massive effect on another. Because of the little humvee cat, I remembered each day to take the time to be thankful, and appreciate what I had.