Randumb Ramblings Inspired by Disney

I just watched Beauty and the Beast with my nephew and niece for the first time in probably 6 years or so. They added a new song? You may not believe that it has been so long since I watched the movie because I have a thing for quoting Gaston as a sort of a facade to the facade of having overconfidence in myself. That one may take a while to mull over in your mind... the facade of a facade. Of course I can't make the fancy "c" required to correctly spell the word... TANGENT!!

So I discovered that this Disney movie is a prime example of Stockholm syndrome, and I think that we will one day see reality shows based on it. "Jenny must spend a week in a magical castle... with nothing to do but read and interact with the ill-tempered and shockingly hairy landlord!"

The other revelation I had while watching the movie is Belle is still my favorite princess. Rip my man card up and replace it with a certified creeper card, but I think that the beast is one lucky water buffalo... despite her being French.

Now comes the other tangent... After the movie I told Andrew and Lizzie that they would one day have their own Belle (or Beast, for the latter... snicker), and then I said that for Uncle Todd... who knows? I remember a day when it was a "when"... now it's an "if". I didn't think it would be this hard.

For instance, as I am preparing to go on a date, I feel... anxious. The most comparable feeling to getting ready for a date was getting ready for a football game in high school. I feel horribly under-skilled and outmatched in every position, but at the same time I can surprise myself... on a very seldom occasion. Both games, both very physically demanding, and both are over in a few hours. Then you get that good feeling sort of like after you finished throwing up... it just feels so much better after you're done.

Blue/Green/Salmon/Melon/Orange/Periwinkle

So that's it, right? No more polos... perhaps ever. I have a plan for this point out, and it no longer leaves my summertime open.
What do I have to show from three summers of EFY? Well, first of all, these summers are not about me. It doesn't matter if I didn't get anything from the many weeks of tiring hours and little profit. As long as the youth go home with something, then it's ok. And there is pretty much no way any counselor goes home without having gained something.

After 14 weeks total over 3 years, I have seen both sides of this program. If I were to focus on the negative aspect (in my view, strictly opinion), I would see a bunch of teenagers who come to this camp for social reasons and minor spiritual aspirations. I would see the tears at the end of the week and despair that the children think only of their basest of relations and don't focus on the greater relationships of life, like the one with your Savior and your family. I would see a bunch of attention craving and obnoxious college students who revert to a level of maturity experienced long ago... and I would be part of that. I would see the cliques and clapping and cheering and dancing and gossiping and I would wonder where the true purpose has gone.

And I would only scratch the surface. The positive is so much heavier, but so much deeper and more difficult to perceive. Will these boys remember? Has the spirit spoken to them as it did to me when I was at their age?

Two years ago I had a group, "Being Alone", which was so phenomenal that they got their very own post on my blog in addition to a spot in the one post of amalgamated EFY memories. Of those twelve boys from that week, eleven are on their mission (with the 12th being a possibility, though I no longer have contact with him). One comes home relatively soon. For this alone, my many weeks with the tools and eccentricities of the staff seem wonderfully bearable. And again, this is only a scratch on the surface.