March 2
Every person is bought into our lives to teach us something. As you see each of your friends today, ask yourself what lessons they hold for you and what lessons you might be teaching them.
The first person that Tim saw that morning was Gibbs. His boss was standing in the elevator, holding the doors so that Tim could enter. He gave a mumbled thanks, aware that Gibbs would not respond either way.
He could not imagine a better boss to have. Gibbs had taught him to think outside the box, to trust his instincts, and to do what was right rather than what he was ordered to do. He might struggle with the latter a lot, but he was getting better. Under pressure, he usually did what he thought was right.
As they left the elevator, Gibbs almost walked into Ziva. Tim smiled as Ziva tried to avoid spilling Gibbs' precious coffee. She would never live it down if she did.
Ziva had taught him how to focus. He admired the way she threw herself into everything she did, determined to get to the bottom of things. She did not allow anything to slow her down, putting everything else to the back of her mind during a case. Even her partner found it difficult to distract her.
Tony ran in five minutes late, as usual. Gibbs glared at him while he took his seat. Tim hid a grin. Tony liked to think he was special, and in a way he was.
Even Tony had taught him something – how to have fun. Somehow, he instinctively knew when they needed to take a break to relax, and he made sure to ease the tension. It usually involved causing trouble of some kind, which was why Tony ended up with more than his fair share of head-slaps.
Tim smiled as he looked around the team. They all depended on each other; they fit together perfectly.