My Eagle Scout

As promised, here are some of the photos from my son’s Eagle Court of Honor. It was held on Sunday, April 12th, and was a very fun and busy day, the culmination of his career as a Scout.

I’m a proud mama, certainly.

(Proud and tired. Thank goodness for coffee.)

I was up way too late the night before, assembling his photo board and putting the final touches on the slide show. A reasonable person would have gotten this done earlier; I am not, alas, nor have I ever been reasonable.

I did, however, remember to ask my friend’s daughter to take photos during the event. Thank you, Kaylee! This blog post would not be here without you.

Two Very Tired but Happy Smiles

Scouting has blessed my family tremendously over the years, as you would see if you did a search for “scouting” in my archives. The camping, the badges, the leadership training…these are life skills learned and Joe’s a better young man for them.

He owes a ton to his dad, that’s for sure. He couldn’t have done it without his dad, who (in truth) is just as blessed for the time he invested. You see commercials for certain decisions being “priceless” and I know that my husband would agree.

The hard work was worth it. The blisters and exertion were worth it.

(I wrote about Joe’s Eagle Scout project here. He built a retaining wall at an area women’s shelter and thus the reference to the blisters.)

My husband would say that he himself didn’t do much–that ultimately it was Joe who did the work–and it’s true that when it came to most of the planning, my husband stepped back and made Joe step up. He (my husband) jokes about going to the garden store with Joe and saying, “You do know that I’m following you?”

(My son had a deer-in-the-headlights moment, then got his bearings and found an employee to help.)

The top of Mount Baldy, Philmont Scout Ranch, New Mexico (John & Joe are on the right.)

 Still,  I’ve watched them together and I know the truth. My son learned leadership from his father. My son is the man that he is–and the man he’s becoming–because of the example set by his dad.

I’m proud of them both!

It’s been a long, fun ride.