Back in the Saddle

Back in the Saddle

So, here I am back in Mosul, doing what I do best: dodge work. Just kidding. Mostly. I returned to find that I've been bequeathed with some additional duties, which correspond mostly to the responsibilities I'll have once we return to the Real World. Key words here are "additional duties". For those not fully acquainted with the military parlance, that simply means this is stuff I get to do on top of the list of stuff I already do. Normally I'd whine at this point and try to claim that my docket is so full I couldn't possibly get all of it done, even if we stayed another year. Unfortunately, such is not the case for me. I mean, I can't even TRY to do that, which kind of stinks.

The good news is here! Y'all need to check that link out. Basically we're at a high of 98 today and then tomorrow it drops to the mid eighties. That, in and of itself, is motivating!! I haven't seen the mid eighties as a daytime high here since we arrived, if then.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the others, who have included me in their blogs. Anjie, who contributes a lot to the comments here, included me in her blog. It's a great post and an excellent blog, so please take some time and read it. As a kid, I remember going to friends' houses and asking them to come out and play. If Anj and her husband lived closer to me, Paul and I would be showing up at their doorstep asking, "Anj, can you come out and shoot?"

Mid eighties...that's just simply outstanding!

Actually I begged off the morning briefing today and came directly to my old office here at the Badging Cell. Several reasons surround this. First and foremost, all of my archives are here and I have one last nut to crack before I can say I'm prepared to begin training my replacement (actually I have a ton of stuff to write up for him too, but I'm talking absolute minimum here). Also, because I don't have the foot traffic in this office that I do in the other one, I can actually get something done here. There's a lot to be said for that, to be quite honest. It's a yin and yang thing too - I like being around the others and the rest of the unit, but I'm more able to focus here. In any event, I'm here for the morning and plan on knocking out a plan or two. Maybe I'll get to smoke some, who knows?

Lastly, please pray for Kim and me. Over the leave, we reopened the adoption process with an agency located in Evansville. The current plan is to adopt a child from Russia. If all works out, the child will be 10 or 11 months old when we pick him or her up. Also, we have a better chance of adopting a boy, which will be a change on the grandchild front... *grin* In all seriousness, please pray. The costs seem insurmountable to me right now, and I know that if this is supposed to happen, we'll find all the resources we need. To that end, I've begun some research, but it's certainly not done. So, please pray: right direction, resources and just a sense of peace about this whole thing.

Those who would send us packages, please do not send anything! We're close enough to flowing out of here that we've been told to tell you all to not send stuff. Again, thanks to everyone who was able to send stuff, and those who wanted to do so!! Getting stuff is nice, but knowing folks are out there keeping us in their prayers and thoughts is amazing too.

Enjoy!