My best Christmas memories were the ones when I was a little kid with my siblings and my parents would get dinner all set up and then we'd get all dressed up in our cold weather gear and head outside for some hardcore playtime because we'd have all of each of the playgrounds in my village to ourselves. There's just something so satisfying about running around and playing so hard that you can hardly breathe, especially on a crisp winter night.

I've gotta say I'm not the biggest Christmas fan. I appreciate a few pretty lights when I go for a walk outside, the idea of a thoughtful gift for a true friend, and most of all, a quiet evening nap on the couch or carpet with the flames from the fireplace casting flickering shadows throughout the dark room. That's my idea of a perfect Christmas.

On the topic of Christmas I read an article in the Stars & Stripes by the Catholic bishop Utah urging some serious restraint on the "holiday spirit". Couldn't agree more:

Here's the link to the original article



In other news, we're due for a brown Christmas this year here in Kandahar. One of those lumbering dust storms brewed up over in Iran and rolled across western Afghanistan last night and today and is expected to shut us down for a few days due to poor visibility. It sucks from an operational standpoint but will be a welcome break from the busy routine of flying. A few hours of sleeping in is definitely in order!