This is my son in the arms of Sima, our housekeeper and my closest companion in Afghanistan. Being house bound a lot during our two years in Kabul, I spent almost everyday in the company of Sima in our old, large, rambling house in Wazir Akbar Khan.

We would sit together in the kitchen in companionable silence sorting out the day's dusty vegetables from the market while she taught me simple Dari.