There are several things about today
that I will always treasure. First and foremost, it was such a great
day for Sam. When he was actually awarded the rank, his fellow
Scouts rose to their feet in a standing ovation that was just a joy
to behold. He gave a wonderful, heart-felt speech about what
Scouting had meant to him, and I was so proud of him!! The whole day
just highlighted what a great young man he has become. I am so
fortunate to have him for a kid!
The 100 or so people who were there
were a wonderful cross-section from his life, and from ours. His
Cubmaster was there, with his family. And tons of his fellow Scouts
and leaders from our troop, of course. Two of the leaders who went
with him on his trip to National Jamboree were there, and two of the
leaders who were with him at World Jamboree. His music teacher from
the high school came, and our priest gave the invocation and
benediction. Both grandmothers made it, along with an uncle and a
couple aunts. But there were also a couple of my work friends there,
and several of Bob's buds from his Boy Scout involvement. A few
close friends from church made it, along with a couple we've been
friends with for about 20 years. The presence of all those folks from
different aspects of our lives really warmed my heart. It made me
appreciate, once again, how richly blessed we are to have all those
wonderful people in our lives.
Warren deserves a special tip of the
hat, too. He quit smoking 10 days ago and is still really struggling
with the physical symptoms of withdrawal. So I know that sitting
through a ceremony like that did not come easily to him, nor did the
full weekend of being asked to do extra chores at home or dealing
with a bunch of our relatives he didn't know. But he rose to the
occasion beautifully. He seemed genuinely supportive of Sam in his
moment in the sun and was very cooperative with all that was asked of
him. Under the circumstances, I know it took a pretty heroic level
of effort to achieve that, and I am grateful both for his effort and
that he is a part of our family.
The day is over now. I have leftover
food to put away, and tomorrow we pick back up with life as we know
it. So it's back to the demands of work and school, to
over-scheduling and too little sleep, to trying to lose weight but
not too awfully hard. Warren continues to fight nicotine withdrawal
and we continue to try to have his back. In many ways, nothing is
changed. But Sam has a reason to stand a little more proudly than he
did yesterday, and we all have a reason to remember how blessed our
lives are. So in a way, everything has changed – it's just a
little bit better!
2 comments:
What an accomplishment for Sam! Good for Warren too! Sounds like an amazing day.
Thanks, Shannon. It really was. Having his cubmaster show up was extra special. And Sam mentioned the pinewood derbies in his speech -- so you never know, you and your guys might be building some Eagle moments already!
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