It feels good to be home. I got back last Thursday. We flew from Afghanistan to Kyrgyzstan (2 hour flight) and stayed there a few days. Then we flew about 7 hours to Shannon, Ireland. I was overwhelmed with how green Ireland was, even from the airport. We rarely saw that kind of green in our part of Afghanistan. It was dry and arid, though we did get a hefty amount of snow in January and February. From Ireland we flew to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where we out-processed for a week. Passing through all of the medical and administrative checks was quite the undertaking. I could have stayed an extra week to get my knee checked out, but chose to get the medical care here in Minnesota. When I arrived at the airport, Emily and Josiah greeted me. Emily brought an OCP hat and put Josiah in it so we would match for pictures. I wondered if Josiah would feel weird around me, but he had no problem letting me hold him. I think skyping on a daily basis really helped. We were very fortunate in that regard; we had ready access to computers and so were able to touch base with family nearly everyday.
Here at home I am enjoying the simple pleasures of family. I love just holding my son, Josiah, and kissing his fat little cheeks. I love listening to him laugh. Tonight, Emily and I took him to the pet store. He went nuts looking a the little puppies and fish; he is so full of energy. Emily really got things ready for my return. She even unpacked all the boxes that I had shipped home, and had a place for me to put my things like wallet and keys. She surprised me with Josiah now being in his own room, and he really likes it. She did a marvelous job with his room; it looks great! Even though we are in an apartment; we are quite happy here. We have all the room we need, and Emily has done a fantastic job of getting things organized and on top of that it looks great--she has been very busy.
I have spent some time applying to Clinical Pastoral Education residencies; we will see what happens. It is nice to have some time to reconnect and to get situated before going back to work. The weather has been fabulous, unseasonably warm, and beautifully cool yesterday and today. Hard to believe that whole year-long deployment is over. I was blessed with a great advising assignment and am grateful for friends I made and experiences that I had. Josiah tried on his little Afghan vest and hat--they fit perfectly. One of my friends in the Afghan National Army gave them as a gift. I miss my friends there.
Emily is making brownies....yum!
Here at home I am enjoying the simple pleasures of family. I love just holding my son, Josiah, and kissing his fat little cheeks. I love listening to him laugh. Tonight, Emily and I took him to the pet store. He went nuts looking a the little puppies and fish; he is so full of energy. Emily really got things ready for my return. She even unpacked all the boxes that I had shipped home, and had a place for me to put my things like wallet and keys. She surprised me with Josiah now being in his own room, and he really likes it. She did a marvelous job with his room; it looks great! Even though we are in an apartment; we are quite happy here. We have all the room we need, and Emily has done a fantastic job of getting things organized and on top of that it looks great--she has been very busy.
I have spent some time applying to Clinical Pastoral Education residencies; we will see what happens. It is nice to have some time to reconnect and to get situated before going back to work. The weather has been fabulous, unseasonably warm, and beautifully cool yesterday and today. Hard to believe that whole year-long deployment is over. I was blessed with a great advising assignment and am grateful for friends I made and experiences that I had. Josiah tried on his little Afghan vest and hat--they fit perfectly. One of my friends in the Afghan National Army gave them as a gift. I miss my friends there.
Emily is making brownies....yum!
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