Papadaddy

Divorce is hard even on the adult children. My son's inlaws announced they were splitting up after 30 years of marriage (apparently a one-sided decision - he just "wants his freedom). My only problem was that their timing sucked, announcing it one month before the birth of my first grandchild, which turned what should have been the happiest time of my son and DIL's life into a pall of sadness and depression, and then anger. Now, my son's MIL, who was going to provide daycare starting this month, has to move out, find an apartment and a full time job. Not sure about daycare, but I'll probably be paying for it, since both of us still work. Family gatherings are now strained and awkward, with one of them attending, but not both. One of their adult kids has disowned them both, cutting off contact with those grandchildren. The baptism celebration this Sunday with great-grandparents coming from out of town should be real interesting. I can't wait. The selfishness of such an act was astounding to me. That being said, an abused spouse needs to get out, and file charges. Staying together "for the kids' sake" does no one any favors.

A bit confused by your question and what "restoring" means. If the uniform is to be worn currently, then all insignia should reflect your current status...unit numerals, position, quality unit, etc. If it's being kept as a "keepsake", then I would outfit it with insignia reflecting your status in the 80's...unit numerals, rank, position, etc. Most insignia from the 80's is available on eBay pretty cheap. To answer some more specific questions, quality unit patches are only worn for the current year (one at a time). The "green with yellow border" "adult scout" patch sounds like an Asst Scoutmaster position patch. Unit tenure bars ("25") are only worn with the unit numerals of the unit that earned that designation...it's a unit "award", not an individual one. And as someone else said, rank patches (star) may only be worn by youth scouts.

So this is not a run-of-the-mill camping trip. Is the Webelos den able to meet the Safe Swim Defense and Safety Afloat requirements (inlcuding adult training?). When water is involved, there's more involved than just adding a bathing suit to your backpack.

Sorry, I have to vote with the canvas. For six days in camp, my aging back will not tolerate sleeping on the ground. First thing I do upon arriving in camp is to roll up all the flaps and the sidewalls, so the evening breezes can blow through. Put a mosquito net over the cot, and I'm good to go. Flaps come down only for heavy rain. Have to laugh at the young first year campers who try to seal the tent up tight every night...

Same thing here...it's annoying. PS: My resolution is the same as it's always been. This just started this morning.(This message has been edited by papadaddy)

Selecting a webelos leader who "doesn't camp" is like hiring a swimming instructor who hates the water.

Hello all. This is Scoutldr. I would have posted sooner, but I was waiting for the malware at the site to get resolved. My new handle represents my new status as a grandfather...beautiful baby girl born April 18th to my younger son and his wife. It seems that when you close your account, it can never be reopened...or at least I couldn't get any response to my request, until OGE suggested on FB that I just open a new one. So, my message count stands at "1" I guess, rather than ~4000. Since I last posted, I've been lurking daily. My life has become less hectic, so I thought I'd rejoin the campfire. My MIL, whom we were caring for in my home, passed away a year ago, and we've been busy trying to get used to being "empty nesters" again. Also, being the executor of an estate is a lot of work, even for a simple one. The troop that I served was not rechartered in January. All of our remaining scouts got their Eagle and aged out. Recruiting is dismal in this area, and we tried to turn the troop over to our sister Pack's Webelos leaders (a "turnkey" operation, including all equipment), but there was no interest, including from the CO and DE. SO, after 21 years, we hung up our hats and called it a career. After all, our sons are now in their 30s, so I think we are entitled to "retire" and let someone else have the opportunity to serve. The District has been calling trying to entice me with a job no one else wants...still resisting, but not sure for how long. Anyway, I hope to be welcomed back, and have probably "mellowed" a bit during my hiatus. Life is short. If you're not enjoying the journey, you need to make changes.