Sleeping in the Cold!

Greetings from frozen Illinois! This last weekend, I had the particular joy of spending time with my Boy Scout Troop at the Annual Klondike Derby. Unlike the last two years, it was actually cold this year, but with not much more snow than the last two Klondikes. (More frozen mud and grass than snow.) For many of you out there, spending two nights in below freezing temperatures may not sound like a lot of fun to you, but this is one of the highlights of my year. Camping with the scouts is always fun, but joining them in the Klondike, trying to take home the prize and then working with them to stay warm, entertained and fed is also enjoyable. This year was no different. We did have a few scouts that were not as well prepared for the weather as they should have been and it did affect our performance, and most certainly theirs. We tried our best to get them comfortable, but in the end, I think it will be a learning experience for those boys.

One of the things I like best about hanging out with the Scouts is interacting with them on a level of not a scout leader but as a friend. I usually try to involve myself in some of their conversations, games and activities. I have even begun to be the game master for the troop. The boys love having some of the new and different games that I bring along to play after all the planned activities have ended. Let's face it, sometimes even Boy Scout Camp can be boring after hours, so I figured that having fun, easy to play games ready to go would help keep them from getting in trouble or at least keep the whining down.

All of the boys, or at least a very large majority of them, are a sheer pleasure to be around. I like to think that while they see me as one of their leaders they also see me as a friend. And even more so, I really am starting to see how my son is starting to take a role as a leader in the group, especially with some of the younger ones. And he is even starting to stand out among the older boys, even if he does not stand up for himself strongly enough. A case in point is during one of the activities at the Klondike, my son had the correct answer and method for accomplishing a goal, but the older boys decided to do it their own way, which in the end, turned out to be wrong. They should have worked together and listened to their other fellow scouts and maybe they would have done better.

Over all, the whole scouting experience is a great thing for me. I never got to be in Scouts as a kid so I am kind of experiencing this whole adventure along with my son. So far, it has been a fun ride.

Until next time!

later!