It was something that I'll be honest about... not that I tend to sugar coat anything else I put up on the blog, anyway. I have always kind of thought of the Pinewood Derby concept as a dork contest. Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I've pretty much thought of boy scouts, in general, as a big dork fest. My idea of boy scouts is probably not unlike many people's idea of homeschoolers. There are those totally weird-o ones out there and we all get a tarnished rap because of them. So, I'm admitting right here, right now that my prejudice against these handkerchief tying, short-short-wearing guys is unfair and wholly unattractive of me.
So, today, we went to a Cub Scout Pack 400 Pinewood Derby. And it was a blast. It was so fun to watch the boys hope for their car's success and be proud of the victories. It was equally fun to see that no one had poor sportsmanship about losing. It was just a fun time for all.
A couple of weeks ago, I admitted to not liking other people's kids, so it continues to amuse me how much I like these kids that we have been able to hang out with and get to know over the last 6 months.
Today was also cool, though, because we got to meet some parents, which for our little group is a more uncommon occurrence than most boy scout groups. This isn't your typical pack. It's an inner city group, comprised mostly of children living in government housing. Most of the boys don't have uniforms, let alone badges. They don't go camping or sit still long enough to learn to tie knots. They run around threatening each other with make-shift weapons of thrown chairs and fists. But they are amazing.
They are children who love attention and remember you when you come back. They are kids who hear the message of peace you're giving them even when their ingrained habits take over when you hope they'll back down from a fight. They are kids who make me smile as much as I make them smile.
Pretty impressive feat for other people's kids.
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