J-SALT fam

The rain came down / And the friends came / Together

The power of piano / And paper airplanes / Thank you, Sarah / Paul

The dining hall / Is now my home / And J-SALT / Family

---

I don’t like how WordPress formats my poetry in the excerpt for the posts, so I’m trying a new format…

This poem was from the prompt “A Storm”, and I wrote it in Camp Gilead’s dining hall after cleaning up with the rest of the junior counselors, who were working as kitchen staff during Teen Week. The usual kitchen staff are SALT members (Service And Leadership Training), so we called ourselves J-SALT (Junior Counselor SALT). There is a piano in the Hall (don’t ask why), and our SALT leader, Paul, and the lovely Sarah, the nurse’s assistant who helped out whenever she could, played us some lovely piano pieces. It was a really sweet time, so I pulled out my poetry prompt journal to try to express what I was feeling.

Camp is officially over, and I’m trying to reclaim some sort of normalcy before I start school on Monday Hopefully I’ll get some more posts written and all that jazz. 🙂

Squid

I’m Gonna Miss My Lil Bro

Giggles, squeals
And smol smiles galore,
Adam and I
Rough house-ing on the floor

He pushes me over
And I roll on my back
He jumps into my arms
And I hug him right back

With his face right near mine
His volume down to a 2,
He rubs our noses together, and says
“Ugga mugga“;
I love you too.

I barely have time
To appreciate his love
Before he gets right back up
And gives me a shove!

I throw up my hands
And chase him around.
It’s a lovely way to spend
One of my last nights in town.

---

I’m leaving for the FPEA homeschool convention on tomorrow, and then I’m going straight to Camp Gilead for the summer, only coming back on Saturdays (basically). 

So, I’m trying to soak up all the Adam-ness I can before I leave.  Monday night, I played with him after dinner for a bit.  He gets a bit riled up, but his sweet, quick love inbetween all of his little boyish yelling and tumbling almost made me cry because I know how much I’ll miss him.  D: 

He just turned four on Saturday, and I can’t believe I’m gonna be gone all summer and miss his amazing adorableness!  I’m storing up all his affection in my heart so that I won’t feel like I should have spent more time with him, should have let him play racetrack on my bed one more time, etc. 

Shoutout to my lil bro! ❤

-Squid

 

P.S. I guess I did manage to fit in one more blog post before I left! 🙂

Quatro Años

Guys…

I started blogging in 2013, so I was 13 (which just seems crazy to say).  In these four years, I’ve gained 324 followers. (Hoooowww???) But, more than that statistic, I’ve gained an uncountable number of friends; on WordPress and in real life.  Some have been good for a short time but faded away, and some are still here since 2013.  

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship because God also has recently given my family a bunch of new friends through our band/orchestra/choir program, GCHFA, through our synagogue, and through random (I mean God-designed!) encounters at the beach.  Like, how cool are people who are incredibly cool but yet also think that you’re cool??  It’s so great!

Thank you to all of these amazing friends (online and in person) who have made an investment into my life.  I wouldn’t be here without you, and I wouldn’t be the same person I am today without you. 

Praise God for friends!

-Syd the Squid

P.S. I’m going to see The Last Jedi with a bunch of my church friends (FAMILY) tonight!  

Running

I watched you cry today.
Your little feet were carrying you as fast as they could, when, 

BAM!  

Forehead, meet wall.

The waterworks came with a loud scream.

Mommy was back on duty, and sister-recreation time was over…

Or so I thought.

Less than a minute later, you’re back to

Running.  

With tears in your eyes 

But a smile on your face, 

We resumed the game as if nothing had ever happened.

But when we took a break, 

The sniffles returned, and you crawled into my lap, looking for security.  

A few moments of R&R…

And we’re back!

To running. 

-Squid

P.S. The Truth About Running – Studio C seems timely… 

On Hurricanes

A hurricane is about to hit my house.

I usually don’t comment on current events, but this one is a little different.

A hurricane is about to hit my family.

A hurricane is about to hit my community.
—

My family moved to Florida about a year after Hurricane Charley pretty much destroyed the very town we were moving to.  The town was (is?) still rebuilding.

That was the last real hurricane to cause any actual destruction.  In the 10 years inbetween, we’ve had Isaac, Whilma, and maybe two others that gave us some wind and a lot of rain, but we lost, like, a shingle from each.  

So, most Floridians don’t take hurricans seriously. 

However, deep down inside me, I’ve always wanted to be in a life or death situation (camp doesn’t count) with my family and come through it together.

Now, as Irma barrels toward (through?) my hometown — with Jose not too far behind, I’m not even going to be there.

I’m in Ohio.  

Go figure.

Today (Saturday) originally was the day that we were going to start heading home. But, you know, that tends to seem unwise when everyone is leaving the state you would be going back to.  

—

I’m not sure how to feel.  

On the one hand, I’m relieved not to be in the middle of 150mph winds and likely power outages.  

On the other hand, my family isn’t evacuating!!  My family is right in the path of a Category 4 (think, really destructive) hurricane.

I’m actually really scared for them.  I want to be there, surviving with them.  I want us to be a family.   But here I am, powerless to anything but watch from the sidelines and, oh wait, pray!  

Please join me in praying often for the survivors of Harvey who have the difficult task of rebuilding their homes and lives, and for the soon-to-be survivors of Irma who will, God willing, be picking up their own pieces.  

They need our support.  Let’s give it to ’em.

—

Aaaannndd I still have some memes I wasn’t able to fit into the post, soooo:

Some public safety announcements:

And the rest… 

Alright guys, stay safe, and please keep Floridians in your prayers!!

-Sydney

P.S. The reason for all the memes is because (why not??) humor is often a defense against fear and/or uncomfortability.  It helps me look at the bright side (we’ve got some pretty funny people out there), and helps lighten the mood a bit, even though I’m kinda freaking out.

On Solar eclipses…

Although Floridians only get a partial viewing of this solar eclipse, I’m still really excited!!  

As I write this, my dad and sister are in the pool (the true Floridian way to wait), and I’m monitoring the camera equipment. 

Focusing on the sun is fun… *not*

I found a great blog post on the incredible design God put into our world as evidenced by perfect solar eclipses.  It’s amazing!  

Enjoy the eclipse, where ever you are!

-Sydney

Naples Trip Pics

Hey, guys!

Our family recently took a mini vacation for the weekend at a beachfront condo in a town not too far from here but far enough away to feel like far away. 🙂  

While we were there, it rained.  But, it didn’t just rain, it deluged the entire area for a short period of time.  

This made for awesome cloud cover!! Naturally, I took pictures. 

These are the lower-quality versions, so, if you want to see the high-res originals, head over to my Flickr page (link on the side widget with the pics!) and check them out!  

Squid