Den Ringer

Hello there!

Before Christmas I wrote about passively becoming Big Brother's de facto Cub Scout Den Leader, pretty much by process of elimination.

Well, that didn't go so well, and it didn't last long.

In part, some changes at work have made things more difficult for me.

In another part, frankly, I didn't want to do it.

And years down the road when he reads this, I want Big Brother to know that there's a clear distinction between "not wanting to" and "not caring and quitting."

I think Cub Scouts are wonderful, and an activity that will build character and important skills. I want Big Brother to participate, and I want to be involved in it with him.

But it's equally important that we recognize our own strength and limitations.

And as the boys have more activities and Bab-E Brother has gotten extremely mobile (and frankly is a total daredevil), things at home have become even more hectic for Mom-E and I.

And while my personality works well in some groups/settings, amidst everything else on my plate right now being a Cub Scout Den Leader just isn't a good fit.

I believe in finishing things that you start, so I didn't want Big Brother just to drop out of scouts.

We were fortunate to find out from a friend at church about another Den that meets very close to our house, with a Den Mother who is one of those excitable extroverts who is just really into scouting.

So we defected to this "new" Den, and the difference is night and day.

And Big Brother is again very excited about scouting.

In particular, we're looking forward to the upcoming Pinewood Derby, which will no doubt be the inspiration for a future blog post.

Big Brother is SO excited about making his car. We've tried to balance encouraging him that his car will indeed be cool and (hopefully) fast. But even if he loses, we've emphasized that the most important things are to do your best and have fun.

Of course, if he does win, then we may be accused of being a "Den Ringer", switching packs just for the Pinewood Derby.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Busy-Dad-E