Afghanistan

The last few days I have been remembering the time that Joel left for Afghanistan and how it affected us. Bren was born on the 26th, by planned induction so that Joel could be home for her birth. I was induced on the 25th, 3 weeks before her due date and she finally arrived at 749pm on the 26th. I pushed to get out of the hospital as soon as possible so that we could have at least one day at home as a family before Joel left for Afghanistan. We came home on Saturday adn Joel left on Sunday. I have some wonderful memories of that day, even though it was hard to have him leave so soon after the birth, we had a wonderful day together. I had braced myself for weeks of no communication, but fortunatly I got to talk to Joel almost daily. One thing I remember clearly about our conversations and some of the letters I have from him is how the children in Afghanistan affected him. He was in charge of getting food stuff from the locals, so everyday he walked down to the front gate and when he would get there, at least 10-15 little boys and girls would be ther. He said, "mary, I can't help but look at these little kids, give them what candy is in my pocket and play with them for a minute and thank God that our little girls are in a country where they are free and do not have to live like this." That statement affected me so much, that is when I realized that he is doing this for our children, for their freedom, for us as a family. Joel went to the ends of the earth to ensure that we are free. I miss him so much. I miss his wisdom, smart ass comments, his love for his family and most of all I just miss having him here. I have so many memories that I want to put down for my girls, I will get it in time.