Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom!

Sorry I'm not there to help you celebrate (we already did that remember).

It is a big one though.  You are 70 today.

Your birthday is beginning to scare me.

You are only 17 years ahead of me and when I was younger I thought that was pretty cool.

Now, it is a sign of how much older we are both getting.


I do look back and realize what an inspiration you have been.

We almost lost you 10 years ago, which makes this birthday even more significant.

Married young, did the best to raise your four kids (which all four have turned out pretty well, I think), lived through lots of adversity and in the end you have prevailed.

Nothing keeps you down and somehow you continue to put one foot in front of the other.

For that I am proud of you.

Love you.

Jerry

End of Summer Doha Style

Today it is September 7th and bachelor life and the summer is officially over.

The Summer began on July 3rd when Cathy left for home from Berlin to begin her Summer away from Doha.

It is a boys club in the Middle East as many wives leave town and escape the high temperatures and humidity found in the region (average temps are 35-50 C, or 95 - 122 F for my non metric friends) with humidity near 100% at night.

I'm sure she enjoyed being home during that time, not just to escape the heat (it was pushing 100F at home when she arrived), but to enjoy life as she likes it.  Fresh brewed Folgers in the morning, proper morning shows on TV, Orioles baseball, seeing our boys and their girls, lunch with parents, dinners with close friends.

Our visit to Berlin was chronicled in a previous post.

The month of July was long with adjusting to being a bachelor, then...

Josh and I hung out in Turkey for a few days in early August (this deserves its own post).

Got to see him present to his summer school and spend time touring Marmaris and Istanbul.

Presenting

Shopping 

Drank the only beer in town
(makes ordering easy)

Rode the Ferry across the Bosphorus (several times)

For work reasons I went to Denver in early August.  The Annual Business Development meeting.  It was good to see the work group and re-connect with folks I hadn't seen in close to a year.  It also made me realize how efficient we are in MENA (read - fewer people with broader responsibilities vs. a lot of people with less responsibility in North America).

The trip to the US was extended to include a visit to the home front.

It was a busy seven days.

We had a party for my mother who turns 70 this year (on the 9th of September if you are wondering).

 We made it out to the ballgame

 And after a busy weekend, we relaxed by doing some work around the old homestead and then I returned to Doha in time for Eid Al-Fitr.  I certainly needed the long weekend to recuperate from the jet lag.

I did get to photograph some fireworks shot off to celebrate the holiday.

And with the end of the fireworks the party was over and it is time to get back to work.  Clients are returning from their holiday and the fun has started again.

Tonight my sweetheart returns to Doha.  I hope she is as happy to be back as I am to see her....

Probably not....