First, I love you, too, brother.

For good or ill, you know better than most that I'm not without anger or bitterness, and I've given those emotions more play than I prefer to admit. But I'm not ashamed of them or particularly critical of them. I think they have their place as appropriate evaluation reactions. I just don't want them to rule my days and nights, or many of my hours and minutes.

My hope is that we both respond to our particular challenges with vigor and resilience. I have no idea what my path will be (but I think I told you that I will know more by late September), but I hope to rise to it. If this situation sharpens my thinking, emboldens my efforts, spurs my active pursuits, I may look back on it later without bitterness but with a weird kind of appreciation.

My most despised verse: "You meant this for evil but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:20) because it looks at outcomes and ignores suffering. But hey, I can hope for good outcomes, too, and it seems healthier to attend to them. So, onwards and upwards.

Talk to you soon.