What Makes It Worthwhile ?

[SSScout]

Previous thread read: ""Take care of yourself and focus on the good moments, like when a scout comes up to you and says thank you. ""

 

I will share one of mine:   Our CSDC theme that year was "Lewis and Clark Across America".  Each morning, at opening, the staff would do a funny skit,  illustrating a part of the L & C expedition. Selling canoe insurance to the Merriweather, checking his AAA map for directions, stopping at the 7-11 for supplies, etc.   My partner Ted  took on the persona of a French  Voyageur ( I didn't say we were absolutely historically correct), at Scout Skills:  "Hah hah hah, you tie zee knot lak aziss, an' ziss, hah hah hah" .

Months later, he  met a young boy in the grocery store with his mom, and Ted said the boy pointed at him, said "HAH HAH HAH !!"  and ran off.....

 

Mine is having the Webelos  Scout years later, out of the blue, invite me to give him his Eagle Charge at his  CoH....

 

So I ask folks to share:   What moments do you remember?   Like when the boy said.....

[pchadbo]

I am a very active Unit Commisosioner and active at the district level.  My son is very active in his Troop, so I try to stay out of his way.  This year at Recharter time I asked my son to come and help during the day (running errands and helping to eat the donuts).  On the way home I was asking how his day was, he told me he had a good day but wanted to thank me, I asked for what, he said for "doing all that boring paperwork and stuff so we [the Scouts] can just have fun."
​

PAID IN FULL! 

[Cambridgeskip]

About 3 years ago I went to a gig at a local music venue, on the way in I heard someone call my name, looked around and one of the door staff looked vaguely familiar. He came over with a smile on his face and then I realised that years earlier he had been one of my cubs. He'd not been the easiest kid, could be a bit of a tear away but was likeable all the same! He shook my hand, and thanked me for his time in cubs, came to the bar with me and and insisted on getting me a beer. He was now about 19 and working there to pay his way through university.

 

Moments like that make you feel about 10 feet tall!

 

Also from cubs.... the school most of them went to had a bring your parents to lunch day. One cub's parents couldn't make it, so she asked me to come in their place! You don't get as many cute moments as that with scouts.....

[Eagledad]

As the  scout leader of hundreds of scouts over the  years, I run into a lot of strange adults who have to introduce themselves as scout so-and-so, followed with how they really enjoyed me as a leader. Can't help but blush, it's the best.

 

But, just about as many parents of scouts also approach and thank me for time with their son. They then follow up with what their son is doing now as a husband and parent. I never get tired of hearing about our scouts' adult lives.

 

The parents of one scout stands out because they asked me to pin the Eagle Badge on their son at his ECOR. I told them that tradition in our troop is typically left to the scout's father. Both parents were direct when they insisted that they and their son felt I deserved to have that honor. I was so taken by their request that I honestly didn't know what to say. There were no words to express honor and humility in that moment.

 

Yes, I was been paid back in full a long time ago.

 

Barry

[qwazse]

Previous thread read: ""Take care of yourself and focus on the good moments, like when a scout comes up to you and says thank you. ""

... So I ask folks to share:   What moments do you remember?   Like when the boy said.....

• The scout who E-mailed me to say "thanks for the backpacking trip, it was fun".
• In this age of social media: images of erstwhile scouts/venturers taking their friends/family camping/geocaching/climbing/sailing. One lad, who could never connect with our Seabase trips, is now working a tall ship in the BVI (pics of rigging at sunset, enough to melt an eye-splice-lover's heart).
• Just having youth like these to brag about to my international friends (hint: the average Saudi's winter camping is when it gets below 100).
• Son #2 on his last day as a Boy Scout, in uniform, helping an elderly lady to her cab.

Edited January 5, 2017 by qwazse

[RememberSchiff]

So much for "alleged" Russian hacking of American websites.

 

Still I might PILEMASTER instead of Troopmaster. 

Edited January 5, 2017 by NJCubScouter
Moderator's Note: The post to which this post refers has been deleted as spam.

[jjlash]

It's equipment for picking up that PILE of stinky cloths after summer camp.

 

 

 

Ive got a couple of payback moments:

* Standing on top of Mt Baldy with a 17 year old life Scout, he turns to me and the other adult and says "I get it now"

* Receiving an Eagle mentor pin from the last Scout I would have ever expected to get one from

 

But the most meaningful was when the dad of a first year Scout - who had died on a Troop outing earlier in the year - came to a Troop meeting.  He said he needed to be close to his son and this is where it felt right.  Mark my time "PAID IN FULL, FOREVER"

[MattR]

... when a father, who knew he was going to die from ALS, asked that our troop be a part of his memorial service.

... when a scout told me that although he loved his father very much, he was very thankful for the adults in the troop.

... when my son, at age 20, told me "now I get it" (so jjlash, you were doing well to get a response at 17)

... when I see scouts having honest, pure, fun, without a care in the world.

... when a parent told me he has two sons, one in scouts and one not, and the one in scouts is a much more well rounded person.

... when I see an older scout telling stories or leading games or teaching skills to younger scouts that look up to him in awe.

... when a friend, after he saw the scouts working on an eagle project for his church, came up to me and said he was going to put his son in scouts.

... when a scout does something completely selfless because it was the right thing to do, without any prompting.

... when a scout comes up to me a few years after he leaves the troop and says hi and is polite about reminding me what his name is.

... most Saturday nights on campouts, after everyone is asleep and I walk around enjoying the stars above and the warmth inside, knowing that I had some small part to do with a good campout.

 

Yeah, it's all cheesy stuff. And I can't explain to anyone why it's important. All I know is that if I just keep plugging away someone will eventually do something good and I'll be all warm and sappy again.

[ianwilkins]

One of mine came up to me one evening and said "Ian, I think I've done my Queen's Scout Award" (roughly Eagle equivalent, i.e. highest award in UK scouting), I asked them to prove it, the next week two of us leaders sat down with them and their evidence and went through it. Sure enough, it was all there, and then some. E.g. Undertake a 5 day and 4 night residential project in an unfamiliar environment with people who are not known to you. They went to Svalbard for a month and did some glacier measuring or something. All was good, we applied and the award was approved without a hitch. No surprises. They were awarded their badge locally at a district camp, we were proud. Every year the Queen's Scout Awardees have a parade and day of celebration at Windsor Castle. They had a couple of extra tickets, and invited me and the other leader along. It was a grand day out. We had lunch with the parents where they were embarrassing effusive in their praise. I tried to demur as much as I could, I'm sure we hadn't helped that much. All the Queens Scouts awarded that year paraded in the quad at the castle. There was a Scout marching band, an army marching band (the ones with the big fur hats and red coats), the chief scout, a descendent of Baden-Powell, and to top it off the sun was shining. Windsor is basically full of people in scout uniform, it's a very fine occasion. She's now an Explorer Scout leader in another part of country. So yeah, I guess we must have made some sort of lasting impression on her.

 

Then there's the times when parents I know not to be embellishers of the truth simply say "yeah, they reckon it was the best camp they've ever been on."

 

Then there's the time you talk to the parent of the special needs kid when they pick up their kid from camp, and tell them camp went fine for their kid, all the other explorers looked after him....and they burst into tears of relief.

 

Oh, and the kids on camp that come up to you and ask "what can I do to help?". So rare, and so welcome!

 

And yes, the nights round the fire, the songs, the jokes, the stupid things that happen.

 

Probably the bizarrest thing I really enjoy is driving the minibus to camp, and chatting to whichever two are in the front with me. Them choosing tunes off my Mp3 player, people singing along to the good ones.

 

So many good times. When you reflect and think, how lucky am I to be able to do this.

[blw2]

... most Saturday nights on campouts, after everyone is asleep and I walk around enjoying the stars above and the warmth inside, knowing that I had some small part to do with a good campout.

 

 

I've had that feeling a few times, during various scout events when the scouts are having fun.  It's good knowing that I had a part in it even if I've not had a specific "scout said to me...."

 

Had a few great conversations with my son coming back from cub scout camps when I knew he was treasuring that time with just me without the girls.

[KenD500]

Seeing the difference in Scouts from day 1 of Summer Camp (I miss my...) to day 6 of Summer Camp (this place is cool!)

 

Seeing the growth of a Scout going from "I've never slept in a tent before" to showing others how to set up a tent & helping the new guy get thru his angst.

 

Having a normally very high strung Scout tell me during the campfire of a backpacking trip that he can just relax out here.

 

etc...

[gumbymaster]

Seeing the difference in Scouts from day 1 of Summer Camp (I miss my...) to day 6 of Summer Camp (this place is cool!)

 

 

My son was like that.  At our first residence cub camp.  The first night he wanted to go home, and I talked him into staying "just for the night", then we could go home if he still wanted to. 

"There's a 75% chance I want to go home tomorrow morning then", he said.

"After breakfast, when asked what he wanted to do, it was

"There's a 50% chance I want to go home after dinner"

By the end of the three night/four day camp

"There's a 100% chance I am coming back next year."

[SSScout]

Gumby!   Your Cub Scout gives his emotional state in percentages?  I love it !

[Stosh]

It's part of his STEM project.    

[Cambridgeskip]

My troop was at a big event at Gilwell Park at the weekend. Also camping there were the Explorer Unit we feed into, albeit about as far away from us as they could be.

 

Two of the explorers who had been scouts with me took the time to come over to our pitch just to say hello.

 

Sometimes the small things are the biggest thing