Am I crazy?

[starwolfmom]

A year ago February, I became Cubmaster of my son's Pack because no one else would step up to do the job. He crossed over this February (two months ago). I agreed to stay on as Cubmaster through the end of the school year.

 

However, the person who we had lined up to be the next Cubmaster is likely moving to another state where her husband has a teaching job lined up, so now we don't have anyone and have to start all over trying to find someone willing to do this.

 

My husband keeps saying, "Don't even think about it. You are done in June." But after a great meeting like we had last night (raingutter regatta) there's a little voice in the back of my head that says, "This is fun. Those little guys are so wonderful. You've been doing for over a year and know the ropes now, so it will be easy. Just stay on." On the other hand, another voice says, "Only two more meetings and then you're done! FREE! Buh-bye Cub Scouts!"

 

Am I crazy for even acknowledging the the voice that says "stay"? I don't even have a kid in the pack, and I know that the troop (where both of my sons are now) is anxious for me to come back to the committee (I stepped down when I took the Cubmaster job). WHAT DO I DO?????

 

Elizabeth J

[local1400]

Do what YOU want to do. Do you enjoy serving these youth? Then stay. Are you unwilling to continue the effort? Then move on. Only you know whats best for you and the Pack. BTW, a Pack nearby here and a feeder for our troop just got a new CM this fall, and has lost 26 boys. Can't really say for sure, but maybe theres a problem there?

[LongHaul]

First off I don't understand the question. Your an admitted Scouter, of course your crazy! It goes with the uniform. Now that we got that cleared up sit down with the beverage of your choice, do this alone and when you have time to really reflect. Why are you a Scouter? If it's to be with your child then move along with your child. If it's because you like working with children then decide where YOU will get the most satisfaction. Will your presence in the troop make that big a difference to your son? Will your being CM take that much away from your son and family? Can you do one job at a time? Will staying on as CM cause you to try and serve two masters? Scouting is first and foremost supposed to be fun, where do you have the most fun?

LongHaul

 

[ScoutNut]

Do what ever YOU really want. Nothing wrong with either road.

 

I stayed with our Pack. As a matter of fact, this is the first time in 7 years I have had a child in the Pack, & he is a brand new Asst Wolf Den Leader!

 

[nldscout]

ARE YOU CRAZY????

 

Are you a scouter?

 

Isn't being a little crazy one of the prime qualification?

[Stosh]

Yep, but that's not the problem.

 

1) Your boy will be going on into Boy Scouts and developing independence as he grows to maturity. Does he really want you to be tagging along? Even if you do, you will need to step back and let him grow.

 

2) You reall enjoy the Cubs. Stick with them. When my son dropped out of scouts (at Star rank) he was surprised I didn't drop out as well. Surprise! I wasn't in it for him. 10 years later, I'm still here. I also started a Venturing Crew that my daughter was part of for a couple of years, but dropped out 3 years ago. Not a problem.

 

Go where you want to and let your kids grow up through the program. Who's to say you can't stay CM for the next 10 years if you enjoy it? If the local hospital was looking for volunteers, would you break your kid's arm so you'd have a reason to volunteer?

 

Stosh

 

 

[Eamonn]

As to being crazy?

I'm not crazy enough to go near that one!!

You will of course in the end do what you think is right.

You don't say why your husband seems so keen for you to give up being the Cubmaster?

For a good many years I was guilty of talking the talk but not walking the walk.

Sure I'd get up and tell everyone that Family,Work and Church came before Scouting.

But over time I started to put Scouting before my family.

I was having a great time. I had a great bunch of Scouting friends and we'd tease each other, tell jokes, laugh a lot and we did get a lot of work done.

When Her Who must Be Obeyed would say anything, I got very defensive and at times upset.

I also made the mistake of thinking that if I wasn't around things wouldn't get done.

Along the way I picked up more than my fair share of badges, knots and beads. While I never really went out of my way to get them I'll admit I enjoyed basking in the limelight and all this stuff helped feed my ego.

The truth is that I wasn't being very fair to my wife or my son.

I can't help feeling before you sign up for another year having a long chat with the members of your family might be in order.

Good Luck.

Ea.

[kevinpate]

I was a CM for two years after my youngest left the pack. I am no longer a CM, haven't been for a year now. I miss it at times.

 

Not so much that I'm scouring the town hoping to find a pack that's needing a new CM, but yeah, I do miss it at times.

 

Kevin in Norman, America

[ASM915]

starwolfmom,

The troop really wants you back on the committee. Why?

Do they want you to serve in a major position?

Can you handle CM and being a Comm. Member at the same time, while not taking anything away from the family?

Is your husband on the troop committee?

Could you stay CM and be on the troop committee as the Troop's Liaison to the Pack? A minor role, but you know the ins and outs of both and wouldn't have to put that much more time into it and both entities benefit.

GOOD LUCK.

 

PS: One nice thing about staying CM without scouts in the pack, you will probably more objective about things. Some parents in these positions end up focusing on their own kid, become tunnelvisioned, and then try to run thier own agenda. It's nice to have parents involved, but nicer when the leader doesn't have a vested interest, if you kow what I mean.

[MomToEli]

Yes, you are crazy, but who isn't that spends so much time around kids?

 

On to a more serious issue, though - I agree with Ea. It is really easy to get our real priorities out of whack. You need to have the blessings of your dh for it to work. Find out his why. Then do what spouses are supposed to do and talk it out. You both need to be okay with whatever your do.

 

In my not-so-humble opinion.

[Bugs1525]

Our CM right now has no boys in Cub Scouts. His one son has his Eagle and his other son is due to get it this month or next. But his theory is if you do not keep the Cub Scouts going then you have NO Boy Scouts. So in order to keep the process moiving you need to have good people in place for the Cub Scouts so that they are motivated enough to follow through on to Boy Scouts. SO if you truely love working with the Cubs then stay with them!! That only makes the Boy Scouts stronger!!!

[ASM915]

AMEM, BUGS!!

 

One of our Committee members is toying with the idea of dropping back to the Pack level to become a Webelos leader for just that reason.

[Stosh]

I dropped back into Cubbing to work on my Woodbadge ticket. I was working on the Webelos/Boy Scout transition process. I enjoyed the process so well I did a second year, then stayed on for a few more years and worked on Webelos adult training to pass on what I had learned. Those were great years, had a good time doing it. Then the council got me going on Venturing and I moved on to another interest. Still none of these "changes" were motivated by having a boy in any of the programs.

[awesome1_in_cc]

While being crazy is not a requirement for being a Scout Leader, it sures does help!! J/K.

 

I think the advice you have been given so far is excellent. If you enjoy it and your family supports your decission to stay on, then do.

 

My Dad has been a Cubmaster for almost 30 years now and he still looks forward to each and every pack meeting. It was kind of cool for the three years I servered as Cubmaster for my son's pack to call and exchange notes with Dad, Cubmaster to Cubmaster.

 

While my Dad still loves it, my family and I made the decission to move on (with a full & complete transition to the new Cubmaster) when my son crossed over in February. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it but I rather the fact that I had been asked to take over as Scoutmaster of troop and I really wanted to devote my full energy to that effort.

 

I still miss being a Cubmastert somedays from a selfish point of view but my replacement has brought a lot of new ideals and energy to the job and is doing great!!

 

Both programs are can be equally rewarding if you are it doing for the right reasons.

 

Have fun and enjoy your "one hour a week".

[DenZero]

You need to ask yourself if you have an interest in keeping the pack around. If your troop recruits from your pack, it will benefit it greatly to keep the pack. If that's the case, you should stick around until you can recruit a competent and motivated replacement.

 

When our previous Cubmaster stepped down, he got another of the dads to take over. Unfortunately, he isn't very competent, and the pack nearly didn't recharter, and I'll be surprised if it's still around this time next year.