Two years ago today I had just celebrated my 30th birthday. Rob and I had recently suffered a miscarriage that tried our relationship in ways we could have never imagined. And I was just beginning the most demanding job I've ever had working for a boss who I was fairly certain I would despise because our character flaws were so alike.
One year ago today, I updated my Facebook status message to say this: "Lisa is ready for a new job, please." Rob and I had just moved from a beautiful, very obviously German town into the megatropolis that is the largest American community outside of the United States. I'd just started another new job, this time with a female boss who provided me with daily evidence that she was indeed the devil incarnate. I experienced the closest thing I hope I will ever know to a mental breakdown and the aftermath. And that boss I had one year ago expected to despise had somehow transitioned into one of my closest friends and mentors.
And then there's now. In a lot of ways if feels like someone finally handed me a roadmap and a compass and said "Why don't you take those 32 years of life experience and put them to good use?" In reality, I guess that's quite similar to what really happened ("Here are two guns, a bulletproof vest, and a helmet...go find your way through Afghanistan, and inspire some people along the way, would you?") My roadmap and compass have not been things, but rather people. And experiences. And a few bouts of good old fashioned luck.
It's been ages since I had quality girl time...early April to be exact. That means for the past 5 months I've been around boys nonstop...mostly younger, extremely sweet, and totally...male. They helped me unleash my inner badass, but it's really the amazing girls in my life who have been the litmus test as I've found my way back from what felt like the dark side. And this week there was one girl in particular who reminded me that the transition from girl to badass warrior and back is both possible and, wow, is it ever fun.
I met Jane in San Antonio last November...not even a year ago, and somehow it feels like we've known each other a lifetime. In December we met again, that time in Paris then Berlin as she wove her way through Europe on her annual holiday. We spent Christmas Eve at Bikram Yoga in Berlin (while my husband worked back home), had dinner and wine at my favorite restaurant, and enjoyed hours of conversation in the hotel lounge. She's more like me than any of my other girlfriends in ways that define our personalities...we're adventurous, independent, meticulous, confident, and compassionate (but we pretend to be compassionate only at our own convenience, therefore fooling no one).
Jane spent this past week with me at my base in Afghanistan (she was in training here), and has now headed to her own deployment location elsewhere in the country. She, like me, came from a part of the Air Force where leading convoys isn't normal operating procedure, yet here she is doing it. She, like me, went through Combat Skills Training. And she, like me, will be out here for a year living a life that is at the same time more complex and more simple than anything we've ever known.
Friendships like the one I have with Jane inspire me to do something with my life that matters in ways that are important to me. We have a tremendous connection in the lowest maintenance format you can imagine. In Afghanistan, I'm doing something I truly believe in, and I know that she is, too...that's a big part of why we're here. So even if she and I inspire just a handful of Afghans over the course of a year, we'll call that a successful tour. In my book it's already a successful tour because I go to work every day eager to do my job. To be perfectly honest, I can't remember the last time I felt that way...and now that I know that feeling, there is absolutely no turning back.
One year ago today, I updated my Facebook status message to say this: "Lisa is ready for a new job, please." Rob and I had just moved from a beautiful, very obviously German town into the megatropolis that is the largest American community outside of the United States. I'd just started another new job, this time with a female boss who provided me with daily evidence that she was indeed the devil incarnate. I experienced the closest thing I hope I will ever know to a mental breakdown and the aftermath. And that boss I had one year ago expected to despise had somehow transitioned into one of my closest friends and mentors.
And then there's now. In a lot of ways if feels like someone finally handed me a roadmap and a compass and said "Why don't you take those 32 years of life experience and put them to good use?" In reality, I guess that's quite similar to what really happened ("Here are two guns, a bulletproof vest, and a helmet...go find your way through Afghanistan, and inspire some people along the way, would you?") My roadmap and compass have not been things, but rather people. And experiences. And a few bouts of good old fashioned luck.It's been ages since I had quality girl time...early April to be exact. That means for the past 5 months I've been around boys nonstop...mostly younger, extremely sweet, and totally...male. They helped me unleash my inner badass, but it's really the amazing girls in my life who have been the litmus test as I've found my way back from what felt like the dark side. And this week there was one girl in particular who reminded me that the transition from girl to badass warrior and back is both possible and, wow, is it ever fun.
I met Jane in San Antonio last November...not even a year ago, and somehow it feels like we've known each other a lifetime. In December we met again, that time in Paris then Berlin as she wove her way through Europe on her annual holiday. We spent Christmas Eve at Bikram Yoga in Berlin (while my husband worked back home), had dinner and wine at my favorite restaurant, and enjoyed hours of conversation in the hotel lounge. She's more like me than any of my other girlfriends in ways that define our personalities...we're adventurous, independent, meticulous, confident, and compassionate (but we pretend to be compassionate only at our own convenience, therefore fooling no one).
Jane spent this past week with me at my base in Afghanistan (she was in training here), and has now headed to her own deployment location elsewhere in the country. She, like me, came from a part of the Air Force where leading convoys isn't normal operating procedure, yet here she is doing it. She, like me, went through Combat Skills Training. And she, like me, will be out here for a year living a life that is at the same time more complex and more simple than anything we've ever known.
Friendships like the one I have with Jane inspire me to do something with my life that matters in ways that are important to me. We have a tremendous connection in the lowest maintenance format you can imagine. In Afghanistan, I'm doing something I truly believe in, and I know that she is, too...that's a big part of why we're here. So even if she and I inspire just a handful of Afghans over the course of a year, we'll call that a successful tour. In my book it's already a successful tour because I go to work every day eager to do my job. To be perfectly honest, I can't remember the last time I felt that way...and now that I know that feeling, there is absolutely no turning back.
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