Blog
What’s the Point of Flip Flops
November 23, 2024 1 CommentPlease for the love of all things tell me I really don’t have multiple patches of ring worm on both ankles?! I mean for crying out loud, I’ve worn flip flops every day for every shower for seven months now. Surely, I can’t have ring worm. A month ago, I finally took myself into medical […]
Read MoreIdentity Crisis
November 23, 2024 No CommentsThere have been a few times in my life where it feels like I’m standing on a precipice. I can’t turnaround and go back, but I’m uncertain what’s ahead of me. It’s an odd and pretty uncomfortable feeling. I remember when our team landed in Qatar at the beginning of this journey. I found myself […]
Read MoreThe New People
November 23, 2024 No CommentsThere are some crazy estimates out there about how many American men and women have rotated through Afghanistan over the past seventeen years. Millions, and for some it has been generational with mothers and fathers here and later children serving not far from where their parents were a decade before. So, one thing you can […]
Read MorePainfree
November 23, 2024 No CommentsThe other day I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom and the lady who cleans our living area came up to me. Rosie* is an incredibly sweet Afghan woman and the mother of five. She works here in our building seven days a week, cleaning the bathrooms, mopping the floors, carrying bottled water up […]
Read MoreThe Guiding Star
November 23, 2024 1 CommentIf I’d written this post just a few hours earlier, it could have been an entirely different read. As it is you, my readers, get the benefit of the two hours in-between. See that’s when I got my hope back. On Friday, I hopped (well you don’t really hop as much as you trudge) aboard […]
Read MoreDeep In the Middle
November 23, 2024 2 CommentsThe second mile has always been the hardest for me. When I ran cross-country in high school it was always the second mile of the three miles that really gave me trouble. My mind would start to push and push – slow down, walk, quit. I’d have to push back with grit, will and determination. […]
Read MoreLooking Home From Afar
November 23, 2024 No CommentsThis summer I’m pretty darn far away from BBQs, swimming pools, the beach and popsicles. But that’s not all I’m far away from. I pretty far away from America this summer, and when you step back from something, sometimes it offers you a clearer picture. I mean take this picture for instance what is it […]
Read MoreThe Night of Power…and Peace?
November 23, 2024 No CommentsTonight, is what is referred to in Islam as “the Night of Power.” It also marks the start of a historic ceasefire here in Afghanistan. Last week on Thursday after a group of nearly 3,000 religious scholars gathered in Kabul and issued a statement, or Fatwa, that declared the war in Afghanistan illegal and called […]
Read More❤️
November 23, 2024 No CommentsToday, Jason and I celebrate 13 years of marriage. I’m not sure the number means as much as the pure love and strength of our bond. A deployment can take a devastating toll on a marriage, or it can further strengthen an unbreakable bond. Thinking back to our very first wedding anniversary, I had just […]
Read MoreWinter is Coming…
November 23, 2024 No CommentsI’ll be honest. I’ve been delinquent in writing lately because I’ve sunk myself into a Game of Thrones pit and every ounce of free time (which isn’t a lot) goes into binge watching. Don’t worry though I’m on season 4 so it shouldn’t be that much longer… In the meantime, I’ve missed the opportunity to […]
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