After months of training and planning, the time has finally come to head to Afghanistan.  Its impossible to describe how I'm feeling this weekend.  Excited for the opportunity & the adventure, broken-hearted about leaving Doug & the pups, a little bit nervous about the job I'll be doing over there, and a little bit numb (because all those other emotions are absolutely exhausting!).

My plane leaves Tuesday afternoon, subject to the usual hurry-up-and-wait routine the military is so good at.  I'll be flying with about 100 other people from Ft. Lewis heading to the IJC - this is just one of four flights heading over.  Ironically enough, the first stopover may be Bangor, Maine (does anybody know if the whoopie pies at the Bangor airport are any good???).  We'll stop again somewhere in Europe, then its on to the US Air Force base in Kyrgyzstan, where we'll spend a few days in-processing, getting more vaccinations (probably the same exact ones they poked me with here a few weeks ago), and hopefully getting adjusted to the time difference.  Finally, we'll load into a C17 (military cargo aircraft) and head into Afghanistan.   It sure as hell won't be anything like the first-class upgrades I've grown so accustomed to on Delta, but I'll survive.  :)

If there's one thing I hope to remember about this time, its how important time is.  Time spent with the people who matter the most, doing the things that mean the most.  Never has that been more real than in the past few weeks, getting ready to deploy for a year.  I hope that when I come home, and slip back into that daily grind of work and life, I am still this passionate about making every minute count.  (And yes, you all have permission to remind me if I forget!)

OK, enough sappy stuff.  Lots of you have asked for my mailing address over there.  I don't really have an idea of what I might need or want until I get there.  On the forbidden list:  no porn, no pork, and no booze (seriously, they take ALL the fun out of it!!).   You have to write the name (no rank!) and address exactly as it is here:

Jennifer Norvell

N.KAIA-IJC-LEGAD

APO AE 09320

Thanks everyone for your encouragement and support leading up to this little adventure.  I'll keep you posted along the way.  Doug and the pups will be heading to the cabin for the summer, so they'll be kept busy driving across the country (again!) and puttering around the property once they get there.