September 6 - Scouts: a Pre/Review

It's a stormy Tuesday evening, and once again I'm yelling at Skyler. "Where is your uniform shirt? What do you mean you can't find your neck kerchief thingy?! You have to wear the belt! You cannot possibly wear those jeans with the giant hole in the knee!! We're going to be late!!"

Ah, that's just one of the joys of Cub Scouts. Here's the deal, we started late in the academic world, since most boys start in Kindergarten or 1st grade, but Skyler never showed any interest until last year. Therefore, we're already behind in the achievement options and adapting to Scout culture. We thought it would be fabulous for him, since organized sports were never a big deal and so few mentoring men options exist for boys. Plus he gets to use knives and bows and arrows, but with the stipulation of self-control and responsibility.

So again, the organizational idea = marvelous. What's maybe less-than-marvelous is the, um, actual organization with events. Because we're late to the party, I don't feel like we quite fit into the club. I am grateful that other adults have committed to walking the boys through maturing steps and setting up events. I understand in my head that they're offering their free time to do these things, and I certainly don't want to do all that every week. Somehow, though, I still end up bored and frustrated with the lacksadaisical agenda that seems to permeate everything.

Ah, good times. When we signed Skyler up for Cub Scouts at the beginning of September 2010, a lot of hurry up and wait is not exactly what I pictured. Now it's 2011, a new school year, and we're gearing up for another season. After the sweaty fun of summer camp, he's still interested in giving it a try.

So if you hear yelling on Tuesday nights... well, it's probably me.