If you've ever been there, you've probably recognized the place-- the monthly pack meeting of our ward's cub scout troop. Last year, when I wasn't a leader, Eddie and I had a deal-- if he wasn't working, he'd take Bryce and I'd stay home with the other kids. Now that I'm officially (if somewhat reluctantly) part of the organization, I can't sluff it off.
But seriously folks, how is pack meeting fun for anyone besides the cub scouts? It's not fun for the siblings, who have to sit around and watch while the boys do activities. It's not fun for the people who come early to set up and leave late to clean up. It's not fun for the women who patrol the hallways shushing the masses because the Young Women are having some sort of award night in the next room. It's certainly not fun for anyone who has to share the same air with the 40 or so boys after they've been running and chasing and jumping up and down. I consider any night that I get out of there without screaming at anyone a good pack meeting.
Tonight was the Raingutter Regatta. Bryce has asthma, so you can guess how well he did. As a leader, I spent most of the night walking around the building searching for the boys who decided that a little friendly competition doesn't always feel so fun and friendly and were hiding under tablecloths and in the chapel so they could cry away from the gleeful smiles of the victors. Mine went to church repeating the mantra, "Just be calm. Just be calm." At pack meeting, I think I need to adopt the same one-- Or else its alternative: "Just stay home. Just stay home."
1. I don't have to do that again for another month.
2. Lunch with friends.
3. A husband who comes home for an hour, even when he can't help with pack meeting.
2. Lunch with friends.
3. A husband who comes home for an hour, even when he can't help with pack meeting.
10 comments:
We're going to our first pack meeting tomorrow. Now I'm not looking forward to it. Maybe it's a good thing Tyler somehow missed out on the first year of cub scouts, one year less torture for us?
Um, yeah, like I said when you got the calling, if I were ever offered it, it would take me a large amount of soul searching to accept it. Of course I could beg and plead for a nursery calling, I'd MUCH rather do that than cub scouts.
Why don't you have someone watch the other kiddos? I'd do it if I still lived close by.
I guess the idea of pack meeting is that the whole family comes to support the scout. But I totally don't get it. I mean, Annie only has the whole family come to her dance recital once a year, and even then Eddie takes the other kids home after intermission...
Ugh. That sounds particularly awful. I heard that tonight was particularly hard on the boys who didn't "win". Double ugh.
Hmm. I forgot about that. I'm not going to go off on a tirade about scouting, although I could. I'm really not looking forward to Bailey being in scouting. Good luck.
Aww, poor Bryce. It was a combination of Fozzie's engineering skillz and Scooter's lung capacity that helped him win every Regatta race he entered.
I find Pack Meeting corny, of course (drums, east winds, etc.) but I don't have to take my other kids, so it's not acutely painful.
Tomorrow night!
our ward leaders do a pretty good job of including siblings in games and such--it makes a big difference. and they are good at keeping it short and sweet, which also helps. Good luck next month!
I had to read this when I saw the title because I really can't imagine anything worse than sacrament meeting-ours is the 3rd hour after I have spent 2 hours in primary where my kids make up 75% of the group (think really long FHE), Pedro is ready for a nap, and Guapo is on the stand. It is HORRIBLE.
Of course I haven't entered the world of scouts yet, so maybe I should count my blessings, eh?
yeah Tim and I were just talking about this and thinking of how it will be when our boys are a little older. We decided we are sort of dreading it.
And this is one reason that I inwardly rejoiced when I realized I would never be able to attend Pack Meeting, even as a leader. I have never been so glad that I still teach piano lessons. :)
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