Post-Deployment Thank Yous

This deployment, and probably any deployment, is not easy. 

We lean on family and friends back home to maintain that connection and sense of normalcy. 

It is with deep appreciation that I thank my mother, for writing me dissertations on the entire family, so I was never out of the loop. 

To my brother, who made me a deployment mug with pictures of the family. I used it every Shabbat and then just all the time, so I could hold them in my hand and keep them close to me. 

To my sister and brother-in-law, who sent me, literally, hundreds of pictures and videos of my niece, so I did not miss a minute of her growing into the inquisitive, energetic child she is today.

And to my niece, who had no idea that her pictures made me smile and who's videos made me laugh and snort at the right moments.

To my friend, Yiftach, who started reading my blogs from the beginning and emailing me about what he thought. It started during the two months of deployment and our email exchanges were ridiculous and exactly what I needed to get through the toughest part of deployment, where the end is in sight but not really. 

To AUXO (now ACE), and COMMO - thank you for being there for me when I needed someone to talk to. Being the chaplain is not easy. Being a friend of the chaplain is also not easy. My faith in God is stronger and deeper because of you. 

And to the Holy One, my source of comfort and inner fortitude. You saw me. You knew what was in my heart and what I needed, and you sent the right emissaries to speak Your word in such a way that I was open to hear it. 

I am blessed, so much so, that I cannot count them.