Greetings.
I have a couple of comments to make that I hope will be encouraging to iwannaBaCubscout. We are just coming out of the sort of situation you seem to be describing. I'm not sure of all the teminology so apologize in advance for any errors - I'll try to be as clear as possible!
The pack my boys and husband are involved in has just gone through a shake up because of the same sorts of things listed. The Cubscout Pack Leader was having difficulties in fulfilling all his obligations, and my husband and his co-Den leader were really feeling cut off from ALL of the rest of the world of Scouting. A lot of this was due to them both being relatively new to the scouting world when they started with this a few years ago, and not knowing who in the world to contact about anything other than the Cub Master. The only reason they wound up as the Den Leaders is that they knew that if they didn't fill the job, our boys wouldn't be able to be in Scouts. They had a basic idea of what a Den Leader does and had some basic training, but then felt they were cut adrift with no way back to shore.
It had gotten to the point that about 6 months ago that when they were told clandestinely by the Pack Leader that he was going to be moving away soon, the two of them seriously discussed just letting it go and finding something else for the boys to be involved in. This would have been easier than it could have been, because the only boys involved in the dens they were running were our two families' and one other boy, who's mother was as fed up with the situation as they were.
They both decided that it was worth making the effort to go above that person in the chain of command to try to keep the pack alive. *laughin* My husband even bit the bullet and said he'd be the one to step into the position if that was what it would take. Gratefully, they discovered that they WEREn't alone out there and that the lady who is whatever the next step up is, is more than happy to get them all the information they could ever ask for. She has bent over backward to make sure they know what is going on in the district in the way of training and what they need to do to get their training and to get reorganized. She's just happy to have someone wanting to make the pack a stronger one I think. *laughin*
Long story short, both my husband and his friend are much more relaxed about the whole thing now and have gotten several training things under their belts. They feel confident that things will be better in the future, and are digging in for the long haul. (Which is good since we still have two boys that aren't old enough for scouts yet)
My husband at this point is still Cubmaster AND Den leader, but mostly that's because we only had the introductory meeting after the recruiting 2 weeks ago, and the Boot Camp last week. There were quite a few new boys with parents who seem to be willing to jump on board so hopefully things will even out soon. We'll give them another week or so to cotton to the idea before we start dragging them into leadership by their ears. Just kidding on that one, but we do have high hopes that others will step up to the plate as soon as the need is made known. Especially with the knowledge that there will be a support system, not just a sink or swim attitude as had been felt previously.
Hang in there and see if there are some people who just don't know who to go to for the information. And I agree with OneHour about talking to the person you're concerned about to see what THEY need. Sometimes our frustration blinds us to that of others'. That may be all it takes to open up a good chat about what needs to change. Biting off more than you can chew can choke you, and knowing it's ok to ask for help can be a BIG relief!
Hope this gives you some encouragement that you're not the only one it happens to, and that it can get better.
Be Blessed,
Bella
