Girl Scouts

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I love working with the scouts! I have been a Girl Scout leader for 18 years (with no end in sight…). I figure I can retire from scouts the same time my sweetie retires from his job unless I have some granddaughters by then who happen to need a leader.

I’ve told you a bunch of our adventures this year including our trip to the zoo. We also took all the girls to an outdoor theater and watched the musical Camp Rock. We had a sleepover and tied a quilt for Teach’s Relay for Life team. We planted trees and went swimming. We played basketball and volleyball and we learned how to paint with pastels and use a compass. We even made jewelry and learned how to play jacks!



So this past week we had our Annual Awards Family Picnic for the girls and their families. My sweetie dragged his event-sized BBQ grill over to the bowery and grilled burgers and dogs for everyone. We invited some of our girls to show off their amazing scouting skills and we sang camp songs. Then we formed the promise circle and sang “Make New Friends.” It’s sort of like the Kumbaya of Girl Scouts in Utah. My girls were excited to receive their awards and bridge to the next scouting level. I was excited to be finished until October.

The best part of Girl Scouts is the cookies (but not selling them) and working with the girls. Every year I question my sanity, but I still send in my paperwork and make up a calendar. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve thought about quitting. Trying to convince these very different girls that we have to be a “sister to every Girl Scout” is hard!

Most girls only stay with scouts for a few years and then they move on to other things. There are so many good activities (and lots of bad ones too) competing for our time and energy. I’ve told you before that I have a secret wish…I want all my girls to earn their Gold Awards and all my boys to earn the Eagle Scout. So far I have five of the twelve who have made it.
 

My secret fear is that I will get too tired and old to help them be what they want to be. I’m 46 now and Baby Doll is not even a year old yet. When she graduates from high school, I will be 64! It makes me tired just thinking about it. Does anybody have any idea where I can find the Fountain of Youth? I may just need it…and a couple dozen boxes of Thin Mints.