Why am I a Scout Mom?
Posted on March 01 2017
Why am I a Scout Mom?
These are my boys, commonly known as Thing 1 and Thing 3.
The short answer to “Why am I a Scout Mom?” is in this picture.
Before I journey into the long answer let’s just get this out of the way,
so my middle child doesn’t suffer anymore offenses.
Here is Thing 2:
Sometimes.
Mostly she looks like this:
Beautiful, right? I’ll never know what I did to deserve her.
Back to the matter at hand. Scout Mom.
It started because I wanted Thing 1 to get some more socialization
(this has always been a struggle for him).
The Scouting program is Mom-Approved (by me) so I figured “Let’s give it a go”
In time, he did well. Then Thing 2 joined Girl Scouts, then Thing 3 joined Cub Scouts.
I guess you could say I was “All In”.
One night, at a Girl Scout holiday party, I was sitting off to the side, while Thing 1 played on his Kindle (see above comment on socialization issues), he looked me square in the eye and said “Mom, go talk to the other Moms, you need some friends”
Well, all-righty then.
And I did. And I liked them.
So, Scouts became a place for me to see my friends, socialize, and deal with my own issues after years of working from home by myself.
Fast forward a year or so. I’m organizing camping trips for Thing 2, I’m the Awards Chair for Thing 3 and on the Fundraising Committee for Thing 1. The Committee Chair position opened for Thing 3. I DID NOT want to. However, I couldn’t stand to see the Pack fold. I did it for the Thing 3, for the other boys and families.
I had no idea it would be so great for me.
It has not been easy. It’s frustrating, and time consuming.
But it is also such a growth opportunity.
I’m not a leader (unless I’m drill sergeant for my army of 3).
It was a huge push for me to lead a meeting, but I did it
(and people seem to like them because they keep coming back).
It was a huge push for me to organize pack meetings, to be the ring leader with the clip board. Again, there are happy kids and parents enjoying their evening. Check and done.
There are moments like this:
When my sweet hubby decided to become Assistant Cub Master.
Redefine “All In”
So, we’re doing it together. We’re a Scout Family…and the people in our Pack/Troop are our Scout Family. Dear friends, who we share our weekends, our energy and our desire to raise our kids in a similar theme.
There are challenges that are more physical in nature:
Thing 1 needed to hike an ascent of 1,000 feet for a Merit Badge requirement.
Challenge Accepted.
Hell ya, we did it.
I only needed my inhaler once. It was about 10 feet from the top, and I wanted to throw the stupid thing off the mountain when I realized how close we were to finishing without it. I told Thing 1, this hike gives new meaning to the expression “I’d die for you” LOL. An experience we will never forget.
And the fun projects:
Fourth of July parade Float competition.
Marching in my home town, in my uniform, with my boys, feeling such a sense of civic pride I wanted to cry. Proud of my town and my country. Remembering all the times my Dad marched as volunteer Firefighter and finally understanding why. (This reason snuck up on me, as I was dreading this, and it was awesome! Stupid inner introvert)
And then this happened:
Second Place, baby!! Oh yeah!
Because of Scouting I had the courage to take my Things camping by myself. Just me, my babes and the woods. Again, it was a stellar experience, worthy of its very own blog post. And something on the list for this summer too.
I don’t see myself giving up volunteering in Scouting as my kids grow. Thing 3 is almost done with Cub Scouts and I am already calculating my next move. Anxious to dive deeper into the Leadership Training that BSA offer its adult leaders. Now I’m hungry for personal growth, hungry to hone my skills as a leader. The benefits ripple out into my personal and professional life, and my desire grows.
Inner Introvert be warned, you’re becoming extinct.
About: Kim is a momma, wife and small business owner. She lives with her family in Dutchess County, NY where she enjoys her rescue dog, bunny and chickens. Her family loves camping, hiking, geocaching, and all things Cub and Boy Scouting. She is the owner/creator of Three Sisters Herbals, LLC, which she affectionately calls “her other baby” TSH is the same age as her youngest human baby, and they are all growing up together.
1 comment
Really short answer: Because you’re awesome!?