Well hey there, strangers. I'm so sorry that I haven't been keeping in touch better with y'all, but I've been busier during the last two weeks than at any point in my life. "Full time" doesn't begin to describe the scope of being a TL. It's a great challenge and one that I'm taking in stride, but I have very little time to tend to myself and personal matters. Those times which I do have are generally spent decompressing or talking with other TLs about how they're doing. I seem to be handling this thing better than some and have become somewhat of a counselor, or at least a willing and listening ear.

This morning was a little rough on me, and some of the other TLs. We watched a video that featured several people who had faced serious hurdles in their lives (e.g rape, drug abuse, battle wounds, gun violence) and had a discussion about it afterwards. Two of my teammates shared that they have been directly affected by both rape and suicide. As a facilitator I felt very unprepared to deal with these revelations, but we got through it and ended up learning a lot about each other. Immediately after this discussion, I learned that one of my fellow TLs is resigning. She discovered that her mother has late stage lung cancer and immediately made the decision to go home. I think that it was unequivocally the correct decision, but it is still difficult to have a close friend leaving so close to the start of our project work. She will be greatly missed by everyone here, but she has to be there for her mother.

Don't let these things that I've written about lead you to think that I am in any way unhappy, apprehensive or disenchanted by the experience I'm having. Conversely, I am greatly enjoying my time here and have learned a lot about myself and my leadership style. I really enjoy my team - they have an amazing amount of energy, care about each other and work well together. They also seem to be very happy with me thus far. They bought a Nerf ax and named it the "Warhammer" (a nickname that they've used for me) and presented it to me with a note is appreciation and a bunch of chocolate. Needless to say, that made my day and lifted my spirits. My service is to this team, and when they do good work and have a good time, it validates all of my efforts.

I have found the ability to choose one's attitude and find beauty in simple things to be immeasurably useful and applicable to this lifestyle that I have chosen. I want you all to know that I love and miss you greatly. When project work begins (November 5th) things will calm down considerably and I will have much more time to share and talk. That said, stay on me. Call me, even if it's just to share something silly that you read. Email me with stories about your week. Although I've been living in this little bubble for the last two months, I need you. I love you all!