For several years I was the leader of our girls' troop - and then for several more years - I was the co-leader.
We moved to Texas when they were Juniors (4th/5th grade) and we couldn't easily find a Girl Scout troop to join, so they connected with the American Heritage Girls. For the next year I was the co-leader of their AHG troop but then that tapered off, because they weren't crazy about it - and I'd become wise to the fact that if they weren't interested and engaged, it really wasn't worth my energy. So the girls took a hiatus from any scout / troop activities.
Meanwhile, the boys continued with Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and were having a swell time camping and hiking and going on the most awesome trips every summer with their troops.
This past year, for the first time in its 100+ history, the BSA has welcomed girls to join the program. However, not all troops have decided to link with girls. In fact, our boys [former] troop decided NOT to have a separate girls troop. But there was another boys troop in town that had decided to link and set up a separate girls troop. [Our boys have moved and now belong to this other troop, which was no easy decision for William who is working on his Eagle Scout rank.) So we went to check out this brand new girls troop for "informational gathering purposes only" and you'll NEVER guess what happened next. (Well, if you know me, you might know exactly what happened next....)
It wasn't my intention to take on a leadership position, but the Committee Chair is amazingly good at recruiting people, and when she heard that our family had experience with scouting - and loved to camp - she started introducing me to everyone as the new Scoutmaster. "Oh no, no, no .... I'm not ready for that kind of role, I'm just here to get information on what YOU hope to do with the program!" I kept saying. But less than an hour later, I drank the Kool-Aid.
The Akela of Good Fortune must have smiled upon me because I really had no idea what I was doing. But two weeks later, I hastily sewed on all of our patches - including our FOUNDER patches which are very cool - and our family was en route to the infamous Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
Since the fall of 2018, William and Charlie had been preparing for a 12-day, 70-mile backpacking trek at Philmont, and I'd been planning to find a Dude Ranch for me and the other three children to visit in the area, while they were gone. But that was before I knew that we'd ALL be members of BSA.
Once I'd joined BSA, I learned that Philmont has an awesome and incredibly affordable family camp, so while Charlie and William were out in the back country on the trail - I discovered that during the very window they would be backpacking, a leadership conference was being offered which was taught by trainers from the National Program level. So while I was in class learning what I was supposed to be doing in the new role as Scoutmaster (while also eating breakfast - lunch - dinner - and ice cream with the National Commissioner(s) and heirs of Waite Phillips), Elizabeth - Carolyn - and Henry would have the opportunity to enjoy the best camp experience of their lives at *THE* crown jewel of BSA camps.
Fortuitous? YES.
My eyes were opened to what an INCREDIBLE program scouting is - and how I'll forever be a proponent of it for all youth (and adults!) from this point forth. The life skills, the self sufficiency, the conservation, the adventure, the friendships ..... everything you learn in the Scout Oath and Scout Law .... well, it's precisely what every single person in the entire world needs.
Elizabeth, we realized, has incredible aim and after mastering the rifle, has been begging me for a 12-gauge shotgun ever since.
Carolyn (and Henry) loved it, too. (They also loved tie-dye t-shirt making....)
There was a lot of horseback riding, while photographers from Boys Life Magazine were taking pictures of us, taking pictures of them. See them just beneath the Tooth of Time?
(UPDATED TO ADD! They actually interviewed me for the article, which appeared in December's issue of Scouting Magazine. So ... the author was only 1/2 correct on the kid count, but it is true that while William and Charlie were on their trek - Carolyn, Elizabeth, Henry and I would just pick fun things that we wanted to do each day. This picture is what appears in the magazine - and you can see me, taking a picture of them!)
And fly fishing...
And rappelling - which literally had me shaking in my boots. This was the most unnatural thing I've ever done in my entire life.
The kids also mastered this milk crate climbing activity, and by the time we'd left Philmont, Elizabeth and Henry were tied as the top record holders (at Philmont for the season) for the number of crates stacked (#26).
Scouting is wonderful - scouting is great - and whenever the experts informed me that this is supposed to be my most important piece of equipment...
I'd been happily embracing my Scoutmaster fate.
Alas, the Scoutmaster can't just sit back with a cup of coffee All The Time. The girls and I are now in the process of training for the same 12-day 70+ mile backpacking trek that Charlie and William took on this past summer. Here's a picture of us on a 3-day, 20-mile trek we took at Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, last month.
I've been trying to remain optimistic, but my toenails gave up on Day 2.
