Thursdays are busy days for this family. I work a 12 hour shift ending at 7:30pm. Hosanna's first class is at 10am and the last ends at 8:30pm. Maja has honor band from 7-9pm; Hokan has Savior of the World practice from 6-9pm and Cary works from 6pm-midnight or whenever. Since we only have two cars and we live 20 miles from town--where all of these activities take place--our planning, communication and timing have to be just right.
Anyway, since I am the first one finished I have to entertain myself somehow. I am a Cub Scout Webelos leader and am still learning what Scouting is all about. This last Thursday was the monthly "roundtable". Since it meets at the LDS Church across the street from where I work and goes from 7-9pm, I determined to spend my waiting time there.
I arrived in my street clothes and entered a room full of grown men and a few women, of all ages, decked out in full scout regalia. They wore different versions of the Scout shirts and sported a variety of badges, scarves and slides. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and then things got weird. We recited various Scout and Cub Scout Laws, Mottos, and Pledges accompanied by the different salutes and signs. I had wandered into another world. It was kinda like I was on the Flintstones watching the club meetings that Fred and Barney went to or I was in a movie--the kind that pokes fun at such organizations. I almost laughed out loud but this was serious stuff.
Please don't get the wrong impression, I think Scouting is a great organization. Camping out, earning merit badges, and giving service all enable boys to really live and to enjoy, appreciate and take care of the country they live in. If we all lived the Scout Law life would be harmonious. I have fun with my 10 yr old Webelos and am learning life skills and responsibilities right along with them. I wholeheartedly encourage all boys and their parents to get involved in Scouting. It is good for the boys, it is good for families, it is good for our country.
I realized and appreciated the dedication of these Scouters I observed at the roundtable meeting. Once we finished all the rituals I was more relaxed and I enjoyed the presenters who demonstrated the hobbies of basket weaving, model making and carving. I agreed with them that people in general and kids in particular don't have hobbies like they used to. Television, the internet, cell phones, computer games, four wheelers and microwaves have largely replaced things like collecting, backpacking, cooking, and creating with your hands. Hobby shops all over the place are closing. We even do our journaling on the computer. How many bloggers have a traditional journal written in their own hands?
