Limerick night

A week ago we had our first mixed-staff limerick night. Attendance wasn't as large as we had hoped for, but it was still fun. Here's a sampling of some of the "poems" that were read. Not exactly great literature, but hey, we had fun.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, such a tasty treat.
It's brown and white, it's oh so sweet!
When I hear a code brown
I admit I do frown
Because I hear Ben during his usual kitchen beat.
~Curtis

Camp crud, camp crud
You make us sound like we at mud.
We swallow our mucus
Find things that pukes us
Oh man, my snot has caused a flood!
~Laura (aka Camp Nurse)

There once was a crewboy named Jon
Who always used too much Dawn.
He would fill up his sink
All the way to the brink
But now all his bubbles are gone.
~Mason

There once was a cook
Who liked to read books.
She squashed her finger,
The pain did linger,
Now see how stupid she looks.
~Larissa

There is a crewboy who likes fire
Who set off dynamite with a wire.
He did explode.
Pieces are in the road.
Wayne was so mad, he retired.
~Megan

There once was a counselor name Dan,
Whom everyone called the man.
He called us all punks
And slept in our bunks
And now he just works on his tan.
~Various crewboys

....and my contributions....

At Clydehurst this summer you'll see
Some people who happen to be
Topped on their head
By a bright shade of red.
Hooray for more people like me!!


At camp in the barn you'll find
Some boys of unusual kind.
Their aprons are pink,
Their cabin may stink,
But they're still the best in my mind!

Another song

One of my co-workers this summer taught me this song. I believe the version he knows is a mix of more contemporary music and old words, so I'm not sure how the original hymn sounded (I'm pretty sure there was an original hymn). I do, however, really like the version I was taught, and I like the words, so here they are:

“We have not known Thee as we ought”
By Thomas Pollack, 1889

We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.

We have not feared Thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath Thine awful eye,
Nor guarded deed and word and thought,
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know Thee near,
And grant the grace of holy fear.

We have not loved Thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by Thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed Thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
To feel and know the love Thou art.

We have not served Thee as we ought,
Alas, the duties left undone,
The work with little fervor wrought,
The battles lost or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
For Thee to toil, for Thee to fight.

When shall we know Thee as we ought,
And fear and love and serve aright?
When shall we, out of trial brought,
Be perfect in the land of light?
Lord, may we day by day prepare
To see Thy face and serve Thee there.

Addendum 07/27/08

Here's a link to the mp3 version of the song (when the link works.)
http://www.marshillchurch.org/audio/wehavenot_tsf_071005.mp3

Update

I've been really bad at blogging this summer. Sort of a combination of too much to do, too little time to do it in, and nothing much to say. I cook all day. Not a whole lot to say about that. I suppose I could post recipes in my "Wifely Skills" blog, but that would take too much energy. :)

At any rate, we recently started family camp, and I sort of have mixed feelings about that. Tonight was especially, well, sort of "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH." So to start off, campers were just starting to get served. I was working on warming up some more mashed potatoes so we wouldn't run out. As I was running around doing that, a man came into the kitchen and asked to fry a fish he had caught (since he couldn't eat the meatloaf.) Side note here: campers in the kitchen generally isn't a good thing. We can't let all of them in the kitchen (obviously) so even one sort of sets a dangerous precedent. Even one adds to the chaos and confusion. On the other hand, we try as much as we can to accommodate campers. So I told him that generally campers weren't allowed in the kitchen (which he kindly understood) and then I make an exception and let him cook his fish. On my way to deal with that, another lady asked me about a PB&J sandwich, and as I was focused on fish, I ordered someone standing around to help her. ;) Later on in the meal, as I'm still running around with potatoes and various other things, I am informed that we are out of ranch. Why I had to be the one to get the ranch I don't know (generally that's not my job), but I did it. Shortly after that I am informed that the salad bar is out of bowls. On my way to get bowls a camper asks for a fork and I direct him to ask someone else in the kitchen. Then another camper asks if we have mustard. As I grabbed the bowls I said, "Yes, just a minute." So I drop off the bowls, go grab mustard, and hand it to him. I sort of felt like I was the only person there. Can you not see others to ask?? That's why we have waitresses! Also, one or two people requested cottage cheese. I hope they don't ask for it every night. There's a reason it wasn't on the salad bar. I don't know how many PB&J sandwiches Megan had to make, but it was a little insane. Crazy family campers. I realized, though, that I still need to work on being a servant, and on being calm when I'm being asked 10 questions at once. That's not something I deal with very well. So God's still working on me.

In other news, I get to see the counselors more often now, and they're a pretty cool bunch. Lots of red-heads this year and we hope to get a picture all together on Sunday. I talked to a Canadian tonight and he was impressed with my French, considering I only took 3 years in high school and that was over 10 years ago. Of course, we only exchanged a couple sentences, but hey, I'll take what compliments I can get. Also, the "death by chocolate cake" when called by its real name can lead to many awkward conversations. That's pretty much my life right now. :)

This fall

This fall I am going to Jerusalem to go to school, and am obviously very excited about this. However, as I've been thinking the last couple weeks, there is on aspect of this change in my life that I am especially excited (and a bit nervous) about.

"What is this aspect?" you ask.

I'm glad you asked! I am really looking forward to (hopefully) having peers -- people of close to my own age and social status. For the last four or five years probably about 90% of the people I've been around most have either been much younger than me and under my authority or much older than me with authority over me. I realize, of course, that there is no age boundary on friendship, and I definitely love all "my kids" as I call them, whether at school or camp, and I definitely appreciate the older people in my life and their wisdom and guidance. However, I'm not sure how well I fit into either group socially. I'm still not completely at ease in adult parties. I'm not sure if being the only unmarried person there has anything to do with it, but I'll make that my excuse. :) I feel more comfortable with Jr. High, High School, and college age people, but perhaps they don't feel as comfortable with me. Possibly because of the authority I have over them? At any rate, my younger friends often have activities that I'm not a part of. Which leaves me with very few people to hang out with on a regular basis.

Perhaps my hypothesis is wrong and age and (especially) authority differences are not the barrier they seem to be. I'll try to test it out this fall and see how it goes. :)