One of My Life-Changing Moments

Tomorrow we will have our annual Blue and Gold Banquet for cub scouts.  It will be Gabriel and all of his den-mates' last one.

All of these "last" moments are already getting to me.  When I started my den leader journey, I really did not think I would last this long.  First off, Leader is not something I think of when I think of me.  I am a much better follower, or even better, an ignorer.  Second of all, I was never into scouts as a kid.  I lasted about a month at Bluebirds then told my mom I wanted to quit because they made me talk in front of everyone and made crafts I had no interest in.

I stumbled through Gabriel's Wolf year, my first year, and got through it by reminding myself each meeting was only an hour.  One stinking hour.   At that time there were 3 of them showing up regularly.  The next year we went up to 6.  The Bear year started out rough, but suddenly was better, mostly because of one meeting that changed my attitude.  

Until this meeting I was still convinced I really wasn't den leader material.  I was always on the verge of quitting and incessantly complained to my husband about how put upon I was, feeling obligated to continue which is never a happy feeling.  Then we had our new Adventure about being outside.  I had prepared 7 sounds from local animals that were common to hear on a summer Texas day or night.  Cicadas, Cardinals, Screech Owls at dusk, Katydids starting up as the sun went completely down.  Gabriel was the only one who had heard any of them.  I couldn't believe it.

First I blamed video games, but also thought having televisions in bedrooms and just a general dislike or distrust of being outside as the culprit.  I thought, this is bad.  They NEED to know these things.  And of course, my spending summers outside wasn't unique to me as a kid.  We ALL spent summers outside because we had nothing else.  And then once I lived in my little rent house in the country in my 30's I REALLY started loving the outside.

And I realized that I was meant to be a den leader to get these boys outside, and to teach them how to love it as much as I do.  A few weeks later we went on a pack hike at Tandy Hills.  I loved every second and kept up with the boy scouts who hike it all the time, even though it is pretty hilly and difficult in parts.

After this epiphany, my attitude changed dramatically.  I started looking forward to each new adventure, and the boys kept coming back (which also amazed me), and we grew again for our first Webelo year.  We had 9 coming at the beginning of that year, then one changed his mind and quit coming halfway through the year.  At this point the Boy Scout leaders were tickled pink to think of getting that many in a couple of years; their numbers have been falling to all-time lows and they have trouble getting anyone to participate in activities these days.

Last year, my scout master recommended me for an Award, for being The Driving Force for our pack.  I was very moved and so much more proud than I ever could have imagined.  He is another reason for my continuing.  He is a big, shy guy but stepped up when no one else would to lead the pack.  He is nothing like the diehard to-the-book almost military scouting people I've come across at monthly meetings.  Very few of them realize what it is like to have minimal parental help, socio-economic issues and other inner city issues.

Another great thing that has caused me to love this part of my life now came from a very unsuspecting place:  Father Eric, our priest.  We were not big fans when he came to our parish.  But one of the many things that has turned our attitudes around on him is his absolute championing of scouting.  He had been an Eagle Scout, traveled several times to the Jamboree and Philmont.  He actually joined a few brave boy scouts on a Philmont trip this past summer!  A few months ago he was named as the new Chaplain of Scouting for our diocese.  It was a great honor for him, and he has a new stole he wears during Ordinary Time that he proudly showed off at Mass.  He is constantly preaching the value and importance of scouting and trying to recruit new members.  He comes to every big event and as of late has been showing up at all den meetings.  His enthusiasm has been inspiring to me.

This year we started with 7 Arrow of Light boys (one didn't come back from last year) and now seem to have one more that has quit coming for unknown reasons.  I wanted this Blue and Gold to be special for my remaining ones.  The boys are always the entertainment, and in the past they have told jokes and done magic tricks.  My first thought was a Soul Train dance line, but that seemed like pie in the sky to pull off.  Then I thought of the perfect thing:  LIP SYNCHING!!!   The boys were pumped!  The scout master liked the idea so much he wanted ALL the scouts to join in.  The few who didn't want their own song are pretend-playing backup instruments, either bongo drums or Guitar Hero guitars.  We delved into the dress up boxes that I've thankfully hung onto for some semblance of costumes.  We have been practicing like crazy and HAVING A BLAST!  I hope they will get into it tomorrow when all friends and family are there.  We have lost quite a few boys overall, but there are 70 people expected (including my parents and Jav's mom and sister) so it will be a packed house!

And I will find myself in another crazy role, as emcee for this event.  Cracking jokes, getting the crowd going and trying to keep up with my music edits all the while.  My gosh, who am I?  I'm honestly not sure but I'm thankful for every second.