Foreign Service: Year One Done

Bright and early March 28, 2011, I sat with a bunch of dark-suited anxious people in a large auditorium in the U.S. Department of State.  Sometime around 9:00 am, they had us all stand, raise our hands, and take the same oath of office taken by diplomats and federal officials:  "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic . . ."  Thus began one of the most incredible years of my life.  Today, on the one year anniversary of that oath, I am stunned at how quickly the year has gone, and how much we have managed to pack into it.  From training at the Foreign Service Institute, to experiencing Washington, DC,  to traveling the back roads of our new island home, to exploring the coral reefs of the Indian Ocean, we could not have imagined the adventures we were about to experience.  We've been grateful to have Damon and Heather experience parts of the year, along with other family members and friends.  And we've only just begun!!!  It's a happy  first year anniversary!