The Conclusion of My Cub Scouting Adventure...For Now

If you can identify the picture above you either, A) have a boy aged 8-10; B) have had brothers once aged 8-10; or C) are a seasoned den leader in the Cub Scout organization. I can answer yes to two of those. I still have four years until the boy is in Cub Scouts, though.

In case you haven't followed my blog since my scouting adventure began, here were some of my thoughts at the very beginning, back in January 2009:

In our new ward, Kevin and I have been called to be Webelos Den Leaders (hee hee, I'm a den mother...). Don't get me wrong - I think Cub Scouts are a great thing. I'm all for boys being boys . . . However, I know next to nothing about Scouts except for my experience with my brothers: patches on uniforms, boring pack meetings, and grown men in ridiculous costumes (my favorite was seeing the ultra-nerdy guy in our home ward wearing a poorly made Native American costume, while still wearing his big, round glasses). On top of that, I just went to the Cub Scout basic training for four hours (thank you for your pity) yesterday and, being the people watcher I am, couldn't help gawking at all the adults in full-fledged uniforms, decorated in a bunch of patches, loops, beads, and necklaces (even some women were dressed like this). I kept thinking, 'How am I going to make this work for me?' I'm still not sure, but I do know that I'm going to do the best I can since I'll want my son's leaders to do the same someday. And don't worry, I'll be posting a picture of me in my Scout uniform shirt soon. Maybe I should conduct a poll on whether I should get the shorts or the gaucho pants..."

Remember the gaucho pants?  If not, here's the picture again (you're welcome):

A couple weeks ago, our bishop called us into his office and released us from our calling as Webelos leaders. I won't lie, part of me was certainly glad. No more den and pack meetings! But at the same time, I felt a twinge of sadness.  So I thought it would be fitting after nearly two years of den mothering (still cracks me up that I was actually a 'den mother') to recount my experiences and some of the things I learned along the way...

1. Homemade cookies go a long way in getting 10-year-old boys motivated. I also tried a lot of recipes.
Before almost every den meeting, Max and I baked cookies or some other kind of treat. Max and I love to bake. It so happened that the boys liked to eat whatever we baked. So if I told them they could only have cookies if they brought their scout books, it usually worked. Granted, I'm a softie and would give the boys who 'forgot' theirs one, too (but the boys who did bring them got however many they wanted). After a while, the boys seemed to tire of chocolate chip cookies (I even had one of my newer Webelos tell me that he didn't like chocolate chips. He liked chocolate, but not chocolate chips) so I tried new and different recipes. Some of them bombed. The boys didn't care. At all.

2. My four-year-old son is going to have scouting withdrawals.
I partly felt sad to be released from scouting because Max loved having the Webelos come over.  He honestly thought he was one of them. He did the activities with them and tried to play with them (10-year-olds think Buzz Lightyear is the coolest character ever, right?).  The boys were always so patient with him and played with him until he was deliriously happy.  Then there was Cub Scout day camp --  we took Max with us this year and he was in heaven. Don't even get me started on how much he loved the Pinewood Derby (as pictured above). We'll probably go to that pack meeting next year even though we're not in scouts, he loved it so much. So, yeah, I'm a little sad for Max. He'll miss the Cub Scouts.

3.  Speaking of the Pinewood Derby...
I had no idea how much people really get into the Pinewood Derby until I was a den leader.  I mean, they really get into it and I don't just mean the kids; some of the adults were hardcore. Kevin was in charge of weighing the cars and there were a few dads carefully watching the scales. If they came in under the regulation weight, they quickly attached more lead weights and re-weighed them. It was fine-tuning like I'd never seen! And then there was the guy who brought the racing track. I don't know where they found this character, but he was this middle-aged man with super-hairy arms and golden bracelets, wearing an official Pinewood Derby racing polo shirt, on an ego trip. "This track cost me $1500. Do you touch this track? No, you do not! Do you walk over it? Not if you want to race, you don't!"  and so on. He gave a 20-minute lecture about respecting his track and then proceeded to chart the results as if it were Nascar or something. Intense. As my friend put it, he was a walking SNL skit. Chris Farley would have played him perfectly.

4.  You just gotta admire some people's commitment, as embarrassing as it can be.

Since we worked with the oldest of the Cub Scouts, we were responsible for helping the boys earn the Arrow of Light. For those not familiar with the program, it's basically like the Eagle Scout of the Cub Scouts. Anyway, whenever one of the boys got theirs, they would pay like $15 for a guy to come from the Order of the Arrow. Yes, there is a group of men who really take the Arrow of Light seriously. The guy would come, dress in Native American garb, and, with his drum in hand, walk around the room, chanting and singing (the picture above is not him -- though definitely the same kind of spirit).  Did I mention it's an old, white guy doing this? Once his song was done, he made his way to the front of the group and began telling legends in a dramatic voice, as if it was true, scouting lore. The adults in the room looked at each other as if to say, "Is this guy for real?"  To be honest, I wasn't quite sure. He certainly seemed convinced.

5. Boys can find fun in just about anything.
One of the requirements for the Handyman pin was to properly wash a car. The boys were more than excited to wash our cars.  Picking up trash in a vacant lot for the Naturalist pin? They turned it into a competition and had a blast. A catapault made from a shoebox, spoon, pencil, and rubber bands? They didn't want to stop launching marshmallows. Getting pocket knives at the trading post at day camp? The ulitmate highlight for them. I absolutely loved the age of the boys we worked with -- they were older and able to understand more, but they still had that childlike enthusiasm.

6. Being a den leader had its rewarding moments.
Not all the boys got into it, but there were a few that made all of our preparations worth it. Seeing the boys get enthusiastic about learning and experiencing new things was so much fun. One of my favorite scouts was a boy named Landon. His mom told me that he'd never been interested in scouting, but, for some reason,  he suddenly wanted to do it once he started with us. He was awesome -- he went from not knowing a single thing about the program to working his way up through all the badges (even doing some at home on his own time), and eventually earning his Arrow of Light. I felt this surge of pride.  Same goes for our other Arrow of Light scout, Brayden. It was neat to share that accomplishment with them.
And it wasn't just the Arrow of Light. It was so much fun to cheer our little den members on at pack meeting when they got awards and recognitions. It's so much fun to see their pride as they claim their awards. Maybe this whole scouting thing wasn't so bad, after all...

7. I'd do it again.
Now, I'm not one of those people who will ever dress up as an Indian or work for the council and organize anything serious.  But, if I'm ever called to work in the scouts again, I will do it gladly. I've said it over and over again, but I feel so passionately that boys need, more than ever, outlets for creativity and growth, places where they can just be boys. Society, in many ways, is working against them -- curriculum and teaching methods in schools are often geared more toward the girls, recess is being phased out in certain parts of the country, more boys are raised in homes without fathers, role models for boys are hard to come by, and safe places for them to just play are often restricted. Their boyishness and energy is often written off as hyperactive and destructive; instead, it's how they learn.

As I raise my own boy (and as I'm expecting a second one), I'm understanding boys more and more. They are bundles of energy, to be sure, but underneath that is something so beautiful and tender. They're tough on the exterior, but not as much on the inside. The way boys view the world, the way they attack it without reserve and as if it is adventure is a way I wish I could live. I love them. I'm glad I'm going to have at least a couple of my own to raise. They definitely make life interesting.