Afghanistan - Being all one can be.

I know persons who are all they can be...one hails from the dark side...the force is not with him.  Another is the poster child of everything obnoxiously irritating.  They both serve a purpose in my life; but at this moment, I'm thinking more towards the positive spectrum of my existence.

Husband...we both jokingly call him my little headache; but at one point in our union, he was a migraine, toothache, and hemorrhoids all gift wrapped in yellow vinyl crime scene tape.  He's stepped up to the plate and hit a home run with all bases loaded.

He's my hero...he's my sweetheart.  I thought we would die of old age before overcoming our American dream illusion disillusioned by entanglement in plastic card and bank IOU debt.  I was overwhelmed and beginning to give up, he was just short of a trillion overseas job applications submitted; then a plane whisked him off to employment in Iraq, followed by Afghanistan.

Simply put...he's overqualified for the type of work he does.  He considers himself fortunate they overlooked that fact, and is aiming his goals closer to the top of that ladder of success.  He began as a sixty year youngster working physical labor jobs alongside those that really were youngsters.

Southern Afghanistan - Roasting oven of the country

He's had good accommodations...he's had some of the worse in the world.  Today he's living in a tent with seven other persons, and he takes a long hike to use the latrine and showers.  He watches his small laptop movies at his work desk after work before he calls it a night, and walks to his tent of no privacy to end his long day of twelve or more hours seven days a week drudge.

He walks everywhere after dark with boots and flashlight, as the discovery of things in the desert night are not the things you want to meet in flip-flops or sometimes not even the things you want to meet without some type of weapon.  

Camel Spider - also known as a Wind Scorpion

Usually around 4 inches long

Aggressive 16 to 24 inch Saw-scaled Viper

Considered the world's most dangerous snake

 because of its highly toxic venom.

LOTS of these in Afghanistan's deserts

He's abruptly ended telephone conversations with warning sirens blaring in the background, saying he has to hurry to the bunker.  Last night he told me he watched a movie after hours at work, walked past the bunker with several men at the entrance smoking but ignoring him, got to his tent with all seven men sleeping soundly in their bunks, only to discover the base was on 'incoming rocket status'...with hardly anyone hearing the warning.  He says the warnings come over the intercom system in an English accent proclaiming 'Iiiiiin com ming rock et, Iiiiiin com ming rock et.

He lives in temperatures of up to 124 degrees Fahrenheit at its max, although if he is so unfortunate to be standing out in that unforgiving sunshine, the temperature on his skin can reach 136 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fortress built by Alexander the Great during his push to India

I guess I actually live the existence of a military wife.  We are together four weeks out of every fifty-two...together one month out of twelve.  He has my total admiration and devotion, and he gets away with murder at vacation time, how could I not let that be...he deserves so much, much more.

Our debt is a thing of the past, if we keep paying taxes we own our home, savings are beginning to rise above puny, our aged teeth have been given new life by a dentist that is not a crappy preferred provider, and we're repairing our home little by little to not fall apart before we do.

He's one of the most honest people I know for this day and age, he would give you the shirt off his back, he's never at a loss for good words with company, he's that type of person everyone loves to be around...he's that type of person everyone loves.

He was a handsome devil when I first met him...he's still quite devilish handsome.  He calls himself 'my little infidel', I just call him 'my sweet cheeks'.