Energizers

From: Mom
To: Teen and Tween
Re: School Mornings

Henceforth, each school morning will begin with several Energizers. We will walk like an Egyptian, do the Charlie Brown, peel bananas, go fishing, dance like penguins, and other silly stuff. You will roll your eyes, begin half-heartedly (and sometimes even rebelliously), and end up fully awake, laughing at the sight of your mother trying to keep up, and ready for the day.

Each morning of this Middle School Youth retreat begins with 20 minutes of jumping, turning, shaking, nodding, clapping, waving, twisting, yelling, and singing. The tweens LOVE this part. They roar when a favorite is repeated, try gamely to follow the new ones, and laugh at the rubbery, stretchy moves of the two adult leaders on the stage. (I've taken lots of photos, Phil. You're going to see them on the St. Luke's monitors next week.)

One interesting result of chaperoning this week: my college dreams are back. I lived in Carroll dorm at N C State, an un-airconditioned high rise right next to the railroad tracks. The first two or three weeks of school each year included nightly dreams about monsters getting closer and closer and louder and louder - until I'd awaken with heart pounding as one of the nightly freight trains roared past. After awhile, everyone stopped hearing them. The smells (mildew and sweat), the sights (worn wood cabinets and squashy beds), and the sounds (you can hear EVERYTHING) are very, very evocative. So last night I had the dream where I can't find my dorm key and I'm late to class and I really, really need to get the paper I spent all night finishing so I can turn it in on time.

For pete's sake.