Summer lovin'

Well I guess it is about time for another blip on the radar.
I have returned from Tennessee, with more "Supervising Operations of Heavy Deadly Equipment" skills then I left with. It was a really good time though. Having a composite team is like being an aunt, I get to feed them sugar, yell at them less often, share more inappropriate stories and jokes and send them back to thier parents before I get too attached and want to keep them. My team was awesome, very reliable and funny as hell, which made the 2 weeks go by way too fast. After leaving chainsaws on a mountain side for lunch only to getting caught in torrential outpours the skies of west Tennessee had to offer, almsot having a corps member cut off a pinky in an effort to spare an imaginary team mate, spending one very long 6 hour day with the Boys and Girls club of the Carson- Newman College area children and sharing a delicious dinner with a family in the neighborhood who wanted to show their appreciation and offer their support for the work we do in the form of tacos and good company, we returned to the Point for debriefs and then went our separate ways. Looking back it was nothing short of a romantic interlude however only enlisting the characteristics of romance that are adopted by plantonic appreciation and mutual admiration of those involved. The romance of it all was the brievity of such a positive and educational experience in which we all learned something. It was a group of great people with great intentions and the world at thier feet, who had come together, with witty humor and a drive to go above and beyond the entry level call to serve. They are now off with their teams and I have returned to my team to help lead us into a most excellent second half of a year. Here is where I am both excited and worried. Two emotions I have felt at alternating pitches and speeds all year, however I have grown comforatble with as they settle in.
I'd like to continue on with explaining my summer break. I started off hoping I'd wind up on a beach, doing nothing for 7 days, but what it turned out to be was just as rewarding but came with more decision making and driving then I intended. After most of the corps emptied the campus a few of us stayed behind and enjoyed some solitude. Shortly thereafter, I travelled to DC and stayed with my team leader from last year. I got to hang out with some of the other team leaders from last year that had migrated to DC for one reason or another but live together as a happy family. It was a time for celebration as birthday wishes circled around and so did the whiskey. I chatted it up with AmeriCorps alums and got to see a perspective I have yet to experience: the post AmeriCorps reflection perspective. It is, upon review, an amazing experience, like none other any job can ever offer. After the Peace Corps 50th anniversay festival and an unintentional wet t-shirt contest sponsored by east coast untimely summer weather, I made my way to Atlantic Beach for the Fourth. Steak and potatoes, fruity frozen drinks and fireworks, made me feel the right amount of home I was looking for. After spending some qualiy time with papa Cea and Sabrina, I travelled south to Wilmington and got to see my very pregnant but very beautiful best friend Marie. How lovely the process of forming life is, scary but awe inspiring. Madison, after a couple of days got comfortable enough to kick for me, which kind of reminded me of aliens, but it was awesome none the less. Nags Head was to be my next destination and there I would spend the rest of the vacation, apart from the Sunday before we had to be back. It was great, to share one house, with some of the closest friend I have, doing nothing but mini golf and sleeping in, to include sleeping on beaches. I think the hardest decision I had to make was whether the rain was coming closer or going to pass us. On the drive back up, we stopped in and had pizza with Chris' family, who is just as cool as he is if not cooler, plus nothing beats seeing your friends baby pictures. The two days of making decisions for myself only in combination with seeing family and friends, was a much needed break from current reality and made coming back to campus that much harder to swallow. The week started up without skipping a beat and our first day back was doc'd as 13 hours long. Home again home again, jiggity jig :) So we finished out our transition week and mid year trainings.
I am currently sitting in a Panera, in Torrington, CT. I have family close by, the weather is beautiful and our sponosrs with the MRC are fantastic. My birthday is coming up, on Tuesday, and I have refused to make mention of it, mostly because if too many people know I get nervous. There is also a fellow TL in CT, Bridgeport actually and we are hoping to swing a visit soon. Although part of me is still trying to wiggle back into the niche I was in before break, I have found the second half of the year to offer a different set of lenses. The focus of life after is more of a priority and connecting while we still have eachother is another, at least from my end. If we can graduate this year and cry happy tears, I'll know I have succeeded :)