I am STILL still here. My job continues to wear me out, but there are little glimmers here and there. After three meetings and digging my heels in the sand I am able to keep access to the medicines I need in my office. I got a thank you card in the mail today that made me smile. There is a rumor circulating that my new partner may be coming home from Baghdad a month early. And if the rumor is not true, January is getting closer.

Josie still refuses to walk, although she is nearing fourteen months old. My mother tells me that I was close to fifteen months, so I don’t worry about this particular milestone too much. She knows and uses about ten words of sign language, she wakes up laughing every morning and giggles at the drop of a hat. She is goofy. She is so much fun.