When a Field Consultant falls in the forest, does she make a sound?

Yes, yes she does. And the 20 Tri Deltas sitting around the campfire all turn to stare.

Welcome to Wyoming!

I began this visit with an early flight from Pullman, Washington, to Seattle. After connecting in Denver, I boarded the wimpiest plane I’ve ever encountered to make the short, but not so sweet, flight to Laramie, Wyoming. It was but two rows wide and powered by propellers. (Thump, thump… that was my heart. And the engine.)

Now I’m no scaredy-cat flyer, but when that plane took to the skies over the Rocky Mountains and then promptly dropped 1,000 feet in the turbulent wind, I admit I said a prayer. Apparently it was heard, because we landed safely 30 minutes later. My luggage, however, was sitting somewhere in Denver.

If there’s one thing to know about this job, it’s all about rolling with the punches. Lost luggage? Find the nearest Target. Power goes out in the guest room from your hairdryer? Take that wet mop upstairs. The very first day on the job, each one of us FCs emailed each other about something nutty that happened, including tripping down a mountain, walking out of the bathroom with your skirt tucked up your undies, and getting pooped on by a bird.

I was finally able to sit back and laugh about it all this morning with someone who understands! Trent Patterson, a Regional Director for Sigma Phi Epsilon and fellow 2010 graduate of Wichita State, is traveling in the northwest this year and happened to be visiting Wyoming during the first day of my stay. He took me to breakfast, and we laughed about those, and all sorts of other crazy things that only happen on the road. Seeing a friendly, familiar face in the midst of this consultant whirlwind was refreshing and rejuvenating.

And that brings me to the rest of my day today. I trekked out to a lodge in the wilderness with the Wyoming Tri Deltas for their pre-recruitment retreat. I led a small conversation workshop and then we played games and did team-building activities. These girls are a fun bunch! We laughed a ton—see the pictures attached.

At the end of the day we gathered around the campfire for a fireside (with real fire!) It was at this point that I decided to climb a small hill to get another picture of the group of them. And then I slipped on the pine needles and fell.

After Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” stopped ringing in my ears, I sat back and laughed. When else will I be in the Wyoming mountains with these incredible women again? This experience is too haphazard, too inconceivable to sweat the small stuff. I can’t predict the craziness, so bring it on.