On U.S. Soil

-
Greetings from sunny Winchester, Va.  This morning I arrived at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington D.C. after a 13+ hour flight from Kuwait City.  I couldn't have asked for things to go smoother with my travel and flights back.  The C-130 flight from Baghdad to Kuwait was a might bit uncomfortable with the 100+ degree weather but I just focused on other things... Like saying prayers for all my battle buddies and friends I'm leaving in Baghdad, and for my family and friends back in the States.  

I'm sure there are those of you out there who would think it strange to say that going to Iraq was a "blessing" but it truly has been.  I am in awe of the experiences and the opportunities the Lord has given me since I started working Army Public Affairs in August 2001.  I couldn't have asked to work with more wonderful people (military, civilian, contractor and Iraqi) as I did at Gulf Region Division.  My life has been enriched by this experience and they have all earned a special place in my heart.  In fact I do have a bit of heartache over leaving the team.  What a truly unique and special experience this has been for me.  While it would certainly have been tempting to stay longer I have a husband who is very ready for my return, parents who would like to stop worrying, a high school graduation to attend and friends and co-workers back in the St. Louis District who are awaiting my return. 

I don't know if this is the end of this blog.  I may post one more entry once I get home.  Thank you for sharing this experience with me.  I'm sorry I wasn't as faithful with my entries as I could have been but this was my first venture in the blogsphere.  Thank you for joining me on "My Journey in the Cradle of Civilization" and for the prayers and support.

Here is a picture of me in Baghdad taken Tuesday morning when we were waiting for our flight.
  

Signing out for now.  My objective today is to try and stay awake until tonight so that I can start to switch over to the new sleep cycle.  All for now.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Letter I Never Wrote

-
Image
A draft of this blog post has been sitting in my unpublished queue for many years now. You'll see that the book I start the post with is one I read in 2020. This post is about the death of my mother's oldest sister, my Aunt Almeda.   I noticed that death, grief, and illness were themes in some of my reading in 2023. I read John Gunther's Death Be Not Proud, Laurel Braitman's What Looks Like Bravery , Elizabeth Alexander's The Light of the World , Terry Tempest Williams' Refuge , Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking , and Suleika Jaouad's Between Two Kingdoms .   Recently I've found a lot of creative inspiration from Suleika Jaouad. There is a documentary on Netflix right now called American Symphony and she recently did a nearly 2-hour-long interview with Rich Roll for his podcast . I would strongly recommend both, as well as her book.  I got the feeling that now might be the time to complete this post. So, here it is.   *** The last book I r
Read more

Walking in History...Visiting Normandy during the D-Day Anniversary

-
Image
This is probably a blog I should do in two posts but I'm going to try and do it in one.  I'll try to minimize my words and let the photos tell the story. Over World War II's D-Day anniversary, Tom and I traveled to Normandy on a 3-day USO tour.  It was a whirlwind, jam-packed trip that maximized every moment of what were 13 to 14 hour-long days.  I had been looking forward to the trip for months and believe that visiting that historic site during the anniversary is a trip of a lifetime.   In two-and-a-half days we visited three of the D-Day invasion beaches (Gold, Omaha and Utah); visited the American and the German cemeteries; visited Point du Hoc and Saint-Mere-Eglise; went to the Airborne Museum (although we didn't stay long because of the crowds) and the Museum of the Battle of Normandy (which is a VERY good museum); we saw the Longues-sur-Mer Gun Battery and concluded the visit at Pegasus Bridge.  If you've ever seen the movie "The Longest Day" it
Read more

The Joys of Nature Journaling

-
Image
Last month I went to a daylong Introduction to Nature Journaling workshop led by Roseann Beggy Hanson of Exploring Overland and hosted at the Amerind Museum . I knew nothing about nature journaling ahead of the class. It just sounded like something that might complement my own personal journaling and the House Journal I've been keeping since we moved into the new house in February 2023.  In my House Journal I record seasonal observations from Dalrymple Ranch, as my girlfriend Sydney calls our place. Since I walk the pups 2-3 times a day, I notice when a type of wildlfower first appears or when a particular cactus blooms. I also try to note when we have snow or a big rain storm. And while I don't do it as regularly, I do record some wildlife observations too. Thanks to keeping my journal last year I learned that there is an order in which our cacti tend to bloom. Hedgehogs bloom before the prickly pear. Cholla bloom after the prickly pear have started and then barrel cactus
Read more