Wake up snuggles and raindrops.

Thank you for the smell of coffee in the morning,

For warm homemade nutella pop tarts melting in my mouth.

For clean underwear and a fridge full of food.

Thank you for snow on Thanksgiving.

Thank you for hide and seek and little Lego polar bears,

For a four day weekend and no Internet.

Thank you for dishwashers, apple cider, and Mary Poppins.

Thank you for a couch to share,

For the rolling of dice and a little family competition.

For pillows, sleeping bags, and wii controllers.

For enormous bathtubs that smell like tei-fu.

Thank you for child-sized shopping carts and digital cameras.

For silvershield, bottled water, striped socks, log cabins, comfy pajamas, long hugs, towels from the dryer, and wine from Kansas.

Thank you for a fireplace.

Thank you for trees outside the kitchen window.

Thank you for Kingsley’s giggles.

Thank you for Matt’s humor.

Thank you for Jack’s fur coat.

Thank you for Chip’s colorful skin.

Thank you for Sara’s straight hair.

Thank you for Graziella’s curly locks.

Thank you for Dad’s CSI hat.

Thank you for Brandon’s new glasses.

Thank you for Jason’s strategic moves.

Thank you for Mom’s child-like voice.

Thank you for Angela’s dairy free diet.

Thank you for Evangeline.

Above all, thank you for my family. A family that fits under one roof. Where we can laugh and cook and dance and study and play and share life. A work of art.

Thank you for…togetherness.

Love blossomed that year

A sweet girl in her sunday best

An eager boy in his pickup truck

It began

They laughed

Together.

The love was watered and grew

A young woman in a white dress

An anxious man in a nervous sweat

A dance

They laughed

Together.

Time passed with sunshine and rain

A loving mother getting dinner from the oven

A happy father getting tiny hugs after work

A family

They laughed

Together.

Roots of love traveled deeper to stay

A gentle lady with beautiful white hair

A whiskered gentleman with an ornery smile

Fifty years

They laughed

Together.

*I wrote this for Raymond and Alice, a couple I met on the plane ride to Kansas. They were up in Indiana celebrating their 50th anniversary with family. I felt inspired to write something about their story after meeting them and hearing how they fell in love. Love love, Sadie.

…Because that’s what it’s like with you.  It’s not just hanging out with you…you bring people into an experience.  The experience is of who you are, but it’s also more than that.  It’s about finding their own joy and experience the life that surrounds and bypasses us every day.  You’re a bridge back to where everyone wants to be…God loves how you are and how, in a free way, you are fulfilling your purpose both intentionally and unintentionally.

This is a poem (kinda) that my oldest brother wrote for me on my 21st birthday. I felt so blessed, not only for this poem, but for the phone calls, messages, gifts, and memories. It was a celebration of where I am and where I came from. I woke up thinking about the experiences I’ve had in the last year. I can see I’m growing and changing and it is exciting!

One year ago exactly I had my birthday in Kansas and I had no idea what my life was going to be like when I moved to Chicago in a few days. Little did I know I would have such an amazing new life before I turned 21.

I’m happy to be making others happy, to give them that “Saderience” my brother wrote about. I never will forget that and I want to strive to bring joy to the lives of others. Sunshine, freedom, life, those are the themes God has spoken into who I am. I’m Sadie Myers, I am 21 years old, have 3 legal drinks under my belt, a new bouncer friend named Big Al, sore feet from dancing, great friends, and a big heart.