SCOUT'S HONOR...

TONY WALKER

Tonight I took my son to his Boy Scout meeting. If you saw some of my earlier posts you might of seen one where I can't believe it's time for me to start letting go & let my son gain some independence. Boy Scouts pushes the boys to be independent & my son is going to be in middle school this September.... so it's time right? Guess again.

I told my boy today that tonight's meeting is an important one because they are going to discuss all the plans for this weekend's camping trip, my son's first trip without me.

I told him he needs to focus, pay attention, & not goof off... if he only knew how much of a goofball his dad really is!

Off we go to the meeting. We're not there for 10 minutes when as the Scout Master is talking my son jumps out of his chair to yell something. You could probably see the smoke coming out of my ears. 

I got my son's attention & called him over. "Be very careful. You're not behaving & I don't like it." I'm such a tough guy.

So what does my son do? He acts up the whole freaking time. While I couldn't believe my eyes I decided not to do anything. He's on the Scouts clock not mine.

Sure enough one of the Assistant Scout Masters walks over to my son to calm him down. My son practically laughed in this man's face & continued to goof off with this man standing next to him, watching.

As I started to plan my son's funeral in my head, I started to wonder... should I be turning the other cheek & let the Scout's handle this or should I have dragged him out of there, all set to punish him? We had a very long talk afterwards but I wonder if it were enough?

What do you guys think? When do you draw the line? Should I have let the Scouts worry about this or should I have stepped in? Please comment. I'll let you know if my boy survives the weekend.

     

CUB SCOUT GRAD

Tony Walker

Last month my son graduated from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. 

I was the Committee Chairman for the Cub Scout Pack my son was in so I was very hands on with my son. Committee Chairman basically means that the buck stopped at me.

I've always been very hands on with my guy. He has ADHD so he's not paying attention that often & can lose focus very fast. So whether with Scouts or just in everyday life I always have been hands on with him.

My tenure with Cub Scouts did not end on a high note so I was more than happy to hand over the job to someone new as we moved on to a Troop. It was weird for me to not be involved but I enjoyed. I figured once we get used to the new surroundings of the Troop I will most likely get involved. But something very strange has happened.

Cub Scouts is very kid friendly, family friendly, almost a recreational type activity for a kid. Boy Scouts is all about responsibility & independence. Cub Scouts parents played a big part. Boy Scouts parents are not allowed to participate unless they are a trained Scout person. I take my guy to his meetings & I leave.... what? I leave? I don't get to keep an eye on him? I don't get to help him out in an activity if he needs help? I don't get to be there for him? Boy Scouts go camping once a month at least.... WITHOUT THE PARENTS!!! My wife has been a mess with letting him go on a trip without us but he is begging to go. He loves his new Troop & the friends he's made. He loves going to the meetings. As far as I know he's been doing well there. When did my son stop being a little kid??? When did my son stop needing me????

I'm not used to not being so involved. I wasn't ready to let my little man go.

I guess this is the beginning of the end.... he'll be in middle school next year. He'll be too cool to hang with dad. He'll talk privately to his friends while I hear less & less about what's going on in his life.

My son wasn't even two years old when I got cancer. It took me a few years to get back to health. I lost about 3 years. I didn't do much with my kids during that time. Scouts was part of my rebuilding a relationship with my son. Now as we enter some major changes Scouts is once again a part of it.

Do you guys get what I am talking about? Did you feel the same way when your kids were hitting this age? Anyone with kids around my son's age who are currently going through this like I am? Please post some comments!

.............I'll get back to my perverted blogs soon I promise.