Cub Scouting is awesome

I love Cub Scouting! I just can't help it. I love the dorky adult uniforms we have to wear, the cheesy T Shirts that go with every event, the group sing alongs, camping in the woods with my Cub, teaching rope making, bead wiring, Pack Meetings....the whole she-bang. It is good for the heart, mind, soul, Cub, parent, and Cub/parent relationship. I know my little Cub will always remember the times we have spent at Mom and Me camp outs....I will. Before we moved to the Austin area hubby was Cubmaster and I was Committee Chair of our Pack. This meant that we spent a LOT of time with Cub Scout activities, but very little getting to just watch and join in as parents. For instance, every year I DREADED Pine Wood Derby. Not watching my Cub sand, sand, paint, paint, paint, paint, and sand his little wooden car, that was fun. I dreaded the parents who purchase HUNDREDS, really HUNDREDS of dollars worth of special tools, carrying cases, oils, saws, scales, and work on their Cubs' car for months. I dreaded making rules to protect the Cubs who couldn't drill precise holes in their cars to pour melted lead or sand in, then delicately cover the secret treasure with custom paint. I dreaded making rules to protect the gracious community volunteers who ran the brackets from the parents who would insist they were dishonest or ignorant. I dreaded the politics involved with setting up a children's race which is designed to teach good sportsmanship but for which many parents judged their child's success based on his trophy. This year, I was only a parent, a spectator, it was great!

I teach my children from many Bible verses but at my Cub's age, I teach him two in particular:

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much" Luke 16:10

It was a joy to see my Cub take his block of shapeless wood and sand it each night in the garage. When dad helped him with the power saw, he helped. Then my little cub sanded and sanded and sanded. Finally, he painted his little wooden shape with many coats of shiny yellow paint (BTW, many other things in my garage now bear this shiny yellow hue). On race day, he was truly proud of the car he created. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen! He signed his car in, just as he had each year before, and when the attendant asked, "Cub Scout, did you build this car?" My Cub could say, "Yes, I did" and stand by his two memory versus with honor. As a parent I find no greater joy than knowing that at 9 years old, my tiny Cub knows the importance of this!

We watched the race and cheered for everyone. My Cub consoled his friends when they didn't win and congratulated others when they did. The race had a touch more fancy set up than our little pack's back home. Large TV projectors, software for brackets, finishes timed to the millisecond, wow!

My Cub did very well. His place doesn't matter, his joy was the best part. He didn't have the fanciest car there, (although it probably had the most layers of paint!),and he didn't have the fastest car but if you ask him it was the best race ever! I agree.