Cub Scouts!
Now wait, it gets better.... ok now you can laugh...
Yes, that's two Den Leader uniforms, one for me, one for hubby! Are we crazy? Maybe, but we are having fun, learning a lot, the boys are fantastic and let's face it, it was going to happen sooner or later.
I am finding out however, that it's really like a part time job, planning the Den Meetings so that those hungry minds and busy hands don't fall idle! There is no end to their energy, I'm hoping I can soak up some of their excess. Our den has 4 boys, 5 if you count Finn, since he always tags along and he's our honorary Cub this year. He will be in the den with the other boys in less than a year. He's kind of our mascot!
Here is Finn getting a feel for one of the squad cars when we toured one of the police precincts here. He couldn't contain his excitement :)
Dinner after... and haha I'm not in this photo!
We just spent the past few weeks preparing for the Pinewood Derby. This was the first time I had ever experienced a derby and it was a lot of fun watching the boys create their cars, they learned many skills and were so proud! I think every one of our Cubs won at least one heat of the race, and they really did put their own work into the cars.
The lineup from many different packs... some were obviously made by 30 or 40-something "Cub Scouts"...
Like the Army Jeep, maybe - did the dad really think that would pass for something an 8 year old made?
The Cubs voting for "Best in Show"
Here's one of the races Loch won, his car is the green one -
Sorry for those of you who only have girls or lack interest in this subject, but I know grandma wants to see photos, we have to keep her happy!
This brings me to my next dilemma. With all the talk I do of being over scheduled and having no time for the things I love to do, I have been entertaining the idea of scrapping the Master Gardener thing. I know it sounds crazy, since I'm a GARDENER, but honestly over the past year it has really put a lot of pressure on me with all the different projects and has actually drastically decreased the amount of time I get to spend in my own garden! Maybe the time has come for my community service to center around my own little 1/4 acre "family-community"! Growing food and growing boys is what we do in this house, so it would make sense to toss the Master Gardener stuff in favor of spending more time with my boys taking an active part in their lives and being able to have a little more breathing room for the things I'd love to do, like expanding the garden. For those unfamiliar with the Master Gardener gig, it involves a lot of community service, working in the University trial gardens testing seed, visiting schools, growing plants for plant sales, etc. All really awesome stuff, but when there are only so many hours in a day and you are attempting to grow and preserve the majority of your family's vegetable needs, there just isn't any time to work in your own garden! So whaddaya think, am I crazy? No one ever accused me of sanity before so I can take it...
I say if it is too stressful, or getting in the way of your family life scrap it! You can always go back to it in the future if you have more time.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Scouts looks like so much fun! I'm jealous.
There will be plenty of time for Master Gardening after your boys are older. I say - go for the family garden! Go for the boys!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely let the Master Gardener thing go for the time being. Your boys will be around only a number of years to come and you can always go back to "community service" with the Master Gardening program then, if you still want to. Spending time doing fun things with the boys and growing as much of your own food as possible is most important.
DeleteYou and your hubby, I know, are undoubtedly the BEST Boy Scout leaders! What better way for Loch and Finn to have a great experience in scouting. But, sigh, like everything else worthwhile, it takes A LOT OF TIME so something's gotta give in your already too busy schedule. I think you were very smart to think of letting the Master Gardening gig go for right now. You can see that we all give you permission to do so. We'll even write you an excuse to turn in if need be.
Awesome that you are den leaders! Your boys won't ever forget that you took the time to be involved in scouts with them. I have six children and am always trying to decide how to weigh what is most important. My heart usually tells me where I want to be.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you in your decision, I'm sure you'll make the right one for you and your family!
RaShell
There comes a time in every parent's life, I think, when the focus is best spent on home. Just like gardening, family has its seasons, and you won't be this busy forever. Enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteNot knocking the Master Gardener thing or whatever (as I had thought of getting into it also), but like you I've come to realize that I should be mastering my OWN garden (and family). Maybe when the kiddo is a little order I'll try to get into it because I'm sure there's tons to learn and people to learn from.
ReplyDeleteIf becoming a Master Gardener is taking away too much time from home, the boys and your own garden, I would say step back. There are only so many hours in the day and you should fill them with what's really important to you. Don't stretch yourself too thin...
ReplyDeleteNope you aren't crazy. Your family should come first and your own garden too. You are already doing community service being cub scout leaders. I'd do the same thing if I were you.
ReplyDeleteMy husband helped with cubs too while I was busy with the daughters things. It only lasts a few years when the kids will want you helping and being there so enjoy it while you can.
Boy you guys just can not stay out of uniform can you ;)
ReplyDeleteYour family is more important right now then the Master Gardener gig. You will have plenty of time for that later.
ReplyDeleteI was a Den Mother too! I just loved it! We didn't have uniforms though. The pinewood derby was always a lot of fun. But, it is a shame that the parents don't insist that the children make them. Yes, the parents were making them...hmmm...twenty some years ago too!
You will never regret the time you spend with your kids, but you will regret all the time you miss. Everyone says they grow up fast and they are right. When they were little the time seemed to go by so slow. Now when I look back, it seems that one day they were 6 and the next day 20. Enjoy the time you have them home.
ReplyDeleteMy kids did Pinewood Derby at our church. The first year they did the cars we were amazed at some of the cars that were obviously done by dads. My husband did the cutting with the electric saw since the boys were way too young to use it, but the boys did the sanding and decorating. The cars definitely looked like they were decorated by little kids but they had a blast. The best part is that somehow they both won. One got 2nd place and the other got 3rd. Go figure.
I ditto the above--you can always go back to the program. You can't get back your boys' childhood.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy them now. Eventually you'll have all the time in the world.....
Nah-just kidding. There is no such thing as time!
Just enjoy your family while they're at home.
You guys are awesome! I was feeling a bit guilty at even suggesting quitting that, but now that I've put it out there I don't feel so bad. To be honest, I've also kind of "had my fill" of trying to educate a public that doesn't seem to care about their food - that gets old for me real quick and I'd rather focus on gardening for the family and blogging about it with other people who don't need convincing LOL! All of you make perfect sense about waiting, and that's probably a good reason I'm one of the youngest MG's in the group - (and I'm not that young LOL), but many were smart and waited until they had more time to devote.
ReplyDeleteRobin, I wish they still did Den Mothers! Nope I'm an actual trained by the BSA real deal Leader now... they let women do that now :) But each den is now required to have 2 Leaders so it figures they had to start letting us help out officially LOL
ReplyDeleteOk, here's a slightly different take on the whole thing. As a single mother of two boys, I did the Den Mother, then Boy Scout Leader for 20 years, going along with them at each step of the way from cups to Eagle Scout, then working on Summer Camp Staff and District, Regional and National Events. I even became a Vigil Order of the Arrow Member along with one of my sons. I enjoyed every single step of the way, even though I was one of the first women ever to be involved at the Boy Scout level and faced lots of resistance and insults from the old scouters. It was a wonderful experience, and I finally got out of it only when arthritis took away my hiking capability and I could no longer lead the backpacking trips.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm a Master Gardener and really enjoying that, already on the board, involved too much in many different things.
I wish I had tried the Master Gardener thing earlier, and balanced both of the activities, without getting too heavily involved in either. I think that the gardening does provide more of the adult feedback that was missing with the scouting and wish I had been able to do both, but not as intensively, when younger and had more energy. Can you do a minimal amount to keep your membership and learning intact? Is it possible? I still do miss those evenings watching the young minds open to the possiblities around them-but it's fun watching adults talk about seed catalogs too.
Trailshome, thanks for that perspective! I hate to say it but our MG program here is very heavy on landscaping, roses, blah blah blah... see? I'm growing tired of it so quickly since I really prefer to focus on vegetables, natives, sustainable soils and that direction. Sadly, I have yet to really meet anyone in the organization that shares my interests. Daylilies just don't do it for me LOL! I'm hoping it's just a regional thing and that as I move back to the midwest I might meet more people who share these interests. I guess I've just grown so tired of the "wannabe" crowd of metro areas, all they do is talk organic and sustainable but never actually "do"! I think that's the biggest reason for me to get away from it, that I am just not getting any satisfaction from it, even at the minimum 50 hours.
ReplyDeleteIf it's not giving you what you want, then drop it. I agree. Life's way too short to spend volunteer time working away at something that doesn't feed your interests. Have a ball with the kids. Scouting is a great organization, and much more friendly to willing women volunteers now. It's a wonderful experience for the boys AND parents, if they share the experience.
DeleteI think you should do what your heart tells you to do, not what you think you 'should' do. The garden will always be there but the boys will grow up. Do what makes you happiest. And I'm thinking that scouting is definitely community service!!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, here in the midwest (at least in my part of Iowa) the master gardeners are heavily into GARDENING- as in veggies and herbs. Oh, there is some landscape gardening but- it's Iowa!
Judy
Go for it Erin! Those boys and the garden need you more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteNow I see someone else in the pink. I used to love going with to cub scout meeting for my brothers.,but again no outdoor adventures for the girls wonder what it was for my family,girls are maids?none got money put aside for college ,cars etc. like the boys I commend before on how we were told to get a Mrs. degree,luck mine didn't come with beatings as a lot of my sisters did.,oh bother,never mind said pooh,I used to watch my older brother grad to the explorers and on and on and on!
Deletethis is embarrassment,PINK,MAYBE ITS JUST US IN MN. I DON'T KNOW BUT I DID HAVE TO CHASE THE WHITE COMMENT BOX,ONLY FOR IT TO TURN PINK
ReplyDeleteThis is my third year as a den leader and I was a Cub Master one year (previous location), too. Welcome to a whole lot of fun! Yes, there is a lot of work and you literally DO pay to volunteer, but to watch these young men grow and be involved in shaping them...it's so worth it. :)
ReplyDeleteTake it from a Mom who was a den leader and then a day camp director while my hubby became the Cubmaster! Scouts are wonderful, but it is like a part time job. The memories you all will make will be priceless. Let the Master Gardener gig go, it has served you well. Enjoy those little boys because before you know it they will be teenagers and life changes. Sending love to ya, Jill
ReplyDeleteAs a Mom of an Eagle Scout, I can say that the scouting thing takes a lot of time for the parents as well as the Scouts, but also that it's totally worth the effort!
ReplyDeleteIf your Master Gardener organization is that time-consuming, I can totally understand your thinking about dropping it. Here in Cobb County, Georgia, there are lots of opportunities for all the activities you listed, but the minimum requirement is just 30 hours of service each year. I have heard that other groups have more intensive requirements.
I tend to put in closer to 100 hours, but my youngest son is 20. He was in middle school when I took the classes. That makes a huge difference.
AGWH, wow an Eagle Scout,that's great! I think I would keep the MG thing if we had hours like that, our requirement is 50 hours and that doesn't include the 9 hrs Cont, Ed, we have to do. I think everyone is right, there will be plenty of time in the future, they boys are just too young and busy right now, and they are a priority. At least I'm not cutting back in MY garden though LOL!
ReplyDeletehahaha.....you think you might be crazy? Nah! My husband was Cubscout master and I was a den leader for TWO dens ....for SEVEN years. Had to get all our boys through scouts( from Tiger to Webelo 2) and couldn't do for one and not the rest .... We did have a blast though.
ReplyDeleteTinaH