Grumpy teenagers can surprise you

[Cambridgeskip]

In the spirit of Christmas I wanted to share something quite heart warming that I've picked up on at scouts over the last few weeks which culminated last night.

It's about two girls in the troop.

The first one we'll call Jane. Not her real name. Jane is a proper, grumpy, hormonal, adolescent. She is every teenage stereo type. Doesn't say much, particularly to adults. Is stubborn, mutters under her breath, can be a bit rude when she wants to be, answers back a lot. Can't remember the last time she arrived in correct uniform. Is normally burried in a hoody somewhere. Can come across as quite grumpy. Frankly not the kind of kid you expect to be a scout. Nevertheless she is.

The second we'll call Sarah. Not her real name. Sarah has some quite serious special educational needs. They have never been properly diagnosed but you don't need more than 20 seconds in her presence to realise that she is "different." She struggles with any kind of complex instructions, reacts badly in various situations, struggles with decision making, comes across as much younger than she is. Socially she really struggles to fit in.

What I've noticed though over the last few months is Jane and Sarah have become increasingly friendly. Jane looks out for Sarah and makes sure she knows what is happening and is joining in. No one asked her to do it. She just does it.

Last night we had our elections for Scout's scout of the year to be announced next week. We ask each scout to vote for their top 3. (We have separate adults scout of the year award) I noticed Sarah hadn't put in her voting slip so I asked her if she wanted to. She told me she didn't know who to vote for or what she was meant to vote for them for. I told her it was her choice not that of the adults and I didn't want to suggest anyone as it was important it was her vote. She still looked confused. So I had a think and put it another way. I asked her if she had a problem, maybe had lost something or didn't know how to do something which of the other scouts would she go to first to ask for help. I actually expected it to be her PL who is a top lad and really does also go out of his way to help younger kids. However a big smile came over her face and she simply said "Jane".

It was one of those genuinely heart warming moments