Written on October 31, 2006:

I recently read a novel in free verse for my Children’s Literature class. Free verse does not have to rhyme and does not follow a specific rhythm. It is best read out loud, and though it sometimes sounds choppy, it is for added effect. As I began writing this journal entry, I realized that this style of poetry writing would best reflect my feelings.

If only you had seen
the huge fuss
I made about
having
to go home
last weekend
because
Daddy forgot
to get the emissions checked
on my car.
I was so
mad at him.
I didn’t want
to drive all the way home
again.
I complained
about it
all week
to practically
everyone
I saw.
Now
it seems so clear to me,
and I am moved
to tears
with amazement.
Mommy and Daddy
will probably be
taking Sydney
to the vet
tomorrow
for the
last time.
If I had not gone home
last weekend,
I would have
never
gotten to see her
that one
last time.
But God knew
what He was doing.
He knew
that Sydney would be sick
today.
Sydney was
her normal,
hyper,
friendly,
cuddly
self last weekend.
Her eyes
lit up and
she wagged her tail
when I walked in
the door.
She whined at me
when I stopped
scratching her tummy.
She tried
so hard
to be the center
of our Nerts game.
Friendly
to everyone,
Sydney has been
the best dog
ever.

Well, our VBS week has come to a close for this year. And let me tell you, it was one crazy week. We had over 170 kids this year!

I was a crew leader, and I ended up having 7 kids by the end of the week. I think this is probably the most difficult group that I’ve ever had. I had three 6-year-old boys who were friends, so that right there caused a problem. But they really weren’t too terribly bad. Then I had a 10-year-old boy and Stephen, who joined my group on Thursday. The two girls in my group were both developmentally delayed – one more than the other.

I’ve never worked with children with disabilities before, but I was excited because I’m taking a special education class this fall, so I knew some experience would help. It was very difficult, though. Especially with all the boys I had in my group in addition to the girls. One of the girls is in fifth grade, but she’s at the level of a 5 or 6 year old. I pretty much had to give her my attention constantly. We had cupcakes one day for snack, and she ate the paper with her cupcake! I pulled part of it out of her mouth, but she had eaten most of it!

The other girl was going into 7th grade. I’m guessing they put her in my group thinking she could help me out since I had a handful of kids. But that wasn’t the case at all. She was very immature and actually aggravated the boys more than helped them. Even when I told the boys to keep their hands to themselves, she went ahead and hit one of them!

I was praying for the kids all week long and praying that some of the stuff we were teaching them would sink in. I often got discouraged with my group, and I had to pray SO much that God would help me to enjoy them and to learn what He wanted me to learn in this situation. I was often jealous of other people’s groups, especially the ones who had the cute little girls. Having all boys was hard because they don’t like to sit on laps or give hugs or anything. I struggled with that all week long as I worked with these kids, but I did learn to enjoy my group. I know God knew what He was doing when the groups were put together, and the kids in my group were there for a reason.

Looking back, it was a busy but fun-filled week. I did learn a lot about working with kids, which is something I really enjoy. I know God was doing great things last week in each of the kids’ lives.

As soon as I get a picture of me and my crew, I’ll put it up…