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Parenthood is the passing of a baton, followed by a lifelong disagreement as to who dropped it. ~Robert Brault
I’ve been drafting blogs about “perfection” and “volunteering”, but just can’t complete my thoughts ~ still may focus on those subjects later. Instead, I’ve settled my mind today on a few Scout stories that are related to perfection and volunteering.
I’ve had a lot of fun with Boy Scouts over the years. I didn’t get into Scouting until my kids were old enough – what a great learning experience for all of us. I learned that seldom was it perfect, and we always needed more volunteers.
I’ve been a Unit Commissioner for 2 troops the past few years. The Commissioner advises the troops when needed. For the most part I’ve helped resolve a few problems. The fun part has been attending Eagle Scout ceremonies. I’m not a really good Commissioner. Frankly, my interest has always been working with boys rather than leaders. When I was a Scoutmaster, parents would complain that we needed more volunteers ~ or that we needed certain parents to be more involved. I usually responded that my mission in life was to raise kids – not their parents, and that I’d met some of “those” parents and doubted they should really be involved with the troop.
I am convinced that participation in Scouting, sports, music, or any other youth group should not be considered a volunteer activity by Mom’s and Dad’s ~ it’s a parental responsibility! It’s also a joy and opportunity for personal growth ~ for both kids and parents.
Many of my close friends are former Scouts or parents of those Scouts. I am proud of their accomplishments – Doctors, lawyers, teachers, programmers, soldiers, ect. You really get to know people well when you’ve had hundreds of meetings together, scores of nights camping, and completed projects and events. I usually see somebody daily that was associated with past Scouting activities. It’s a real joy to recall old stories – and catch up on what the grown Scouts are now working on.
Several years ago, we took an ambitious trip to the San Juan Islands. The San Juans are an archipelago located off the coast off Northern Washington. There are 4 main islands with unlimited activities. There were 24 boys, and 8 parents. We camped the first and last night of the trip in Issaquah. This made transportation reasonable. We camped 6 nights on the Islands, 3 nights on San Juan Island and 3 nights on Orcas Island. What a great trip. Here are just a few of the activities:
1. Attended Seattle Mariners game.
2. The older boys completed a 50 mile bike ride.
3. Toured an oyster farm.
4. Group 10 mile bike ride.
5. Swimming
6. Hiked to the top of Mt. Constitution – 10 miles.
7. Toured the Whale museum.
8. Toured the Air Museum in Seattle.
9. Completed several merit badges. (Cooking was GREAT!!!!)
10. Observed a “replica” Pig Wars battle.
11. ++++
Our last night of camping was back at Issaquah, at a campground outside of Seattle. We’d travelled from Orcas Island, visited the air museum, and were getting ready to call it a night. It had been a long week – and everyone was certainly tired.
As we were settling down for bed, Cody came to my tent to advise that another man in camp was harassing a lady who needed help. I was tired – told him “have her call 911”. After a few minutes, and a little prodding from Connie, I got up to see what was going on. I walk through the campground – found some older scouts working on a craft project – and everyone else seemed to be in bed. Whew – time to get back to bed. About a half hour later, Cody comes to my tent again, “Mr. Hachquet, the Sheriff wants to talk to you”.
So – I get dressed – again - and walk down to the campground office. Apparently a couple in the campground was having an argument. (After several drinks). The man disrobed himself and was chasing the lady. Four of the younger Scouts, Bob, Cody, Cody, and Aaron were by the phone checking with their Mom’s. They jumped into action when the man was chasing the lady. The Scouts assigned each other tasks – 1 followed the guy, 1 followed the girl (to make sure she was OK), one was looking for the campground host, and the 4th called the Sherriff. They believed the man was going to attack the lady – but knew better than confront him. So far the story is scary – hmmm – it get's better.
Once the Sherriff arrived, the fighting couple settled down and apologized to each other. Then he wanted to talk to me. Apparently the man had disrobed to show his girlfriend that he would give up everything for her. The Sherriff explained the situation to me, and asked me to determine if the Scouts had been offended. If so, the Sheriff would arrest the man involved. Once I explained the situation to the Scouts, Aaron immediately responded “how poetic” ~ the others laughed. They were more amused than offended. There were no charges.
We are not done yet ~ remember that I’d mentioned a battlefield replica during the trip. Once we got back to our camp area, two of the boys decided they should do their own replica for the Scouts that missed the show – including one Scout representing the stripped man. His Mom, who was in camp, was less than impressed.
We finally got to sleep about an hour later. What a memory!!!!
In "If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again" Diane Loomans writes:
If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.~
As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it, or leave it. ~Buddy Hackett
The child supplies the power but the parents have to do the steering. ~Benjamin Spock, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care
Here are a few Scout pictures - sorry I don't have digital copies of the San Juan trip - I need to work on that.
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