Year 1 becomes Year 2

What started out as a "year" of service becomes two years of service today.  This morning I fly out to Stony Point retreat center for an orientation with the Young Adult Volunteer program of PC/USA.  I'll be up there for a week meeting 2 of my future housemates, and then we'll fly to Chicago to meet our final housemate at Chicago orientation.

I have had a really good, relaxing time with my family at home.  One of my worries about doing a second year was that I would not be able to conceptually break up the first year from the second in terms of expectations.  The whole point in doing a second year is to continue what I began in my first year.  As last year went on, I quickly discovered that a year isn't quite as much time as it sounds.  So in one sense, continuity is desired - it's kind of the point.  But in another sense, I need to begin my second term with a fresh mind and an openness to the newness that different housemates will bring and the on-going challenges of daily life that never seem to stay static at all.

Continuity, but not "stuckness."  Continuity with the intention of deepening in growth, experiences, and understandings.

Something new I'll be doing this year is giving periodical updates on my fundraising progress.

I'll also be taking "requests" for my blog posts - if there's something you Really want me to post about and it just hasn't happened yet, feel free to shoot me a message with a question or two and I'll be happy to explore that topic up here.

Thank you to all of my supporters from home and around the country - here's to the second half of my Chicago adventure!