So I thank my lucky stars for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. They have become my village. Without which I would be a raving lunatic without a social outlet for both my kids and I. In Scouting, we have some one to play with and learn with and from. They are my people, my tribe, my lifeline. And I may moan and complain sometimes that I don't want to drive to a den meeting or go on this week's hike or teach a Day Camp class. But once I've gotten over my inherent laziness and driven my kids to whatever event has been scheduled, I find myself enjoying it as much as my kids.
So here are some snippets of why I love Scouting and how they have become my neighbors in St. Smelly Socks Upon Salton Sea (my imaginary Scout village).
1. Howdy, Neighbor
- A Scout Parent is Friendly. I can and have relied on my fellow parents for everything from helping me to teach my sons how to tie their shoes when I'm ready to buy all velcro until they leave home to driving my sons to camp and keeping them alive for a weekend in the woods. There's something very outgoing and helpful about Scout parents. Maybe its because we are modeling the Scout Law to be Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. Or maybe it's because we have all banded together to teach our sons and now our daughters both useful skills that many kids lack but also to be good people. That's the whole goal of Scouting. Unlike sports teams, it's not competitive. In fact, it's the opposite. Scouts are taught to help each other to achieve belt loops and merit badges. The older Boy Scouts even act as role models and helpers in the capacity of Den Chief.
- Now, we do have our own little dramas and the occasional black sheep like all small towns. But in general, I find Scout parents very kind and helpful.
2. The Village Square
- Part of Scouting means giving back to the community. Which means we participate in things like setting up and taking down the flags used for Veteran's Day and Memorial Day as well as helping out rescue missions and singing Christmas Carols at nursing homes among many other countless activities. I honestly feel like a better person when my sons and I aid the community. Plus, I love that they are being taught to think of someone else. To see that they are part of a rich community of diverse people.
- Being part of a Scouting family also means we have someone to celebrate special occasions with. We have trick or treated with our den, enjoyed Christmas celebrations together, and even marched in parades making me feel like a denizen of small town America back in the halcyon days of the 1950s or at least the television version of an idyllic small town.
3. Group Parenting
- I will be honest and say I resisted camping at first. I like nature meaning the trees and the birds are nice, but I am wholly terrified of snakes, scorpions, spiders, mosquitoes, bears, mountain lions, ticks, etc. Plus, sleeping in a tent and trekking to a dark and sometimes questionably clean bathroom at 4 a.m. does not appeal to me.
- However, once I got over my phobias and invested in a nice tent and stopped drinking fluids after six in the evening, I discovered magic. This is where the real village begins with our colorful Coleman tents grouped together like modern Bedouins. We even help each other put up the tents when like in my case you bring a giant 8-person tent and have only an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old to help put the monster together.
- We cook together and share food, cooking supplies, and the washing up. We become an ancient village where the women and in our case, men too, come together to prepare the village meal of spaghetti and/or hot dogs and then communally wash and dry the plastic mess kits and cast iron pans. Naturally, we talk while working together. This is something I believe we are inherently designed to do or at least conditioned by our prehistoric ancestors to do. Because it is so much more fun and easy to clean up while laughing and conversing with your fellow Scout parents.
- We have each other's backs. Meaning if you forgot bug spray, a kettle, coffee, a pump, forks, etc. someone else will have extra to share. Plus, if your kid is the one who scrapped his/her shin or rubbed against the nettles, several pairs of hands will help with first aid, comforting, and distraction.
- Moreover, we all work together to keep the kids alive and relatively well-behaved. One of the Scouting rules is to be 2-deep meaning there must be two parents with the kids at all times. Which means you have someone else to laugh with, or complain with, or commiserate with you over your kids behave or antics. You also can entrust your kids to go off on a hike knowing there are enough adults to supervise.
4. An 80's Childhood
- This is one of the biggest perks of camping and why I brave the great outdoors. Because in between activities and group campfires, the parents sit back in their folding camp chairs and watch as our kids ride bikes, fish, and run around in a wild pack of aptly named tigers, wolves, and bears just being kids.
- For a second, we parents get to relax and talk to other adults.
- For a weekend, our kids get to be kids with other kids without the adults micromanaging their every second. They get to form those deep bonds we enjoyed back when we spent more time with our peers than our parents. Plus, they are forced to negotiate with their peers to work together. They get to explore and try new activities. And they can be as relatively loud and dirty and spastic as they want because we are in the great outdoors usually in our own large, group campsite.
- Yes, there are adults keeping an eye on them. But for the most part, they are oblivious to us. Lost in their own adventures as they make up their own games to play or enjoy a game of flashlight tag, capture the flag, or tug of war. They become their own little tribe.
I love my Scout Village. I feel a welcomed member of the community. Someone who belongs to a larger unit: A Pack or a Troop.
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