Day 205: Little Flirt

I’ve heard rumors that my wife was a bit of a flirt when she was a little girl. Being the youngest of five girls, she undoubtedly had plenty of opportunities to watch her older sisters bring home boys. I can only imagine how she tormented and embarrassed her sisters in ways that only a eight or nine year old girl can. Okay Sue’s sisters, now is the chance for you to share some stories about your baby sister--let’s hope we see something good in the comments section.

Today I went downtown and met with our soon to be appointed Regional Medical Director. It actually was my first encounter with this doctor (he really is a pharmacist but he assures me that doesn’t make a difference). He was accompanied in the office by his youngest daughter who he thought was 8 or 9 years old (remember, Afghans often don’t keep track of birthdays). Anyway, this girl is the youngest of his 14 children. That’s right FOURTEEN kids! That’s a lot even for you readers back home in Utah. I guess it would be important to mention that these 14 children came from two different wives. This is allowed in Islam and is not an uncommon practice, especially among those who have a little more financial security. His first wife has given him nine girls while the second wife five boys.

Anyway, back to this little girl. She was very cute and seemed to be very interested in the strange speaking American soldiers. After about 30 minutes in the doctor’s office, I noticed her sitting next to me. She would steal a glance at me occasionally and give me a little smile. Later on she moved across the room to her father’s desk. At this point she was nearly directly in front of me and she started to become more bold. She started to smile more openly and then started making “eyes” at me. I chuckled when I looked her way again and saw her point to herself and then point at me, all the while with a flirtatious little grin on her face. It is funny how all little kids are the same. I imagine my little Susie, twenty some odd years ago, sitting across from her sister’s boyfriends, doing something similar.


In a country where society still puts women behind burkhas and limits their interactions with others, it was neat to see that their little girls can be just that...little girls.

It made me miss even more my little Susie and the three other little ladies waiting back home for me. By the way Abbie, Ellie and Eden--I better never see you flirting with the boys. You will be in big trouble!