Little Blue Shirt Retired

Dear Little Blue Cub Scout Shirt,

While I attempt to avoid sentimentality, sometimes as a mother, it is impossible.  It has been an emotionally draining week here at the Zoo.  We're only a week from the beginning of the school year and the pace has picked up noticeably in the family schedule.  But that isn't what has been draining.

Usually, I can ignore the fact that the Heathens are growing up without too much difficulty.  They are all still young at heart and love laughter and playing.  And none of them have gotten so old yet that they are unwilling to laugh and play with their Momma - which is such a blessing.

But there is always a time when I can no longer ignore their aging - and that is when I sew patches onto Boy Scout and Cub Scout uniforms.  While I refer to them as "patches," these little circles, ovals and squares of embroidery are actually the Heathens achievements in life.  Each little piece is a goal that one of them set for themselves, that they worked towards, and then achieved with little or no help from me.

Two days ago, Heathen #1 submitted his COMPLETED Eagle Scout packet - the only thing standing between him and a goal he set for himself at the age of six is a board of review.  Ten years of dedication on his part has paid off.  The day he submitted that packet, he couldn't contain his excitement.  The grin of pride on his face was breathtaking to see.

The same day Heathen #1 submitted his packet, Heathen #2 brought home a new rank advancement that he had earned - and he was grinning with pride as well.  He just attained Star Scout.  He handed me the rank advancement card with patch and, while grinning, told me, "I'm getting closer to Eagle!"  He, too, set himself the goal (at age 6!) that he would be an Eagle Scout.

Today, I pulled out my sewing box to attach these pieces of my Heathens' achievements to their uniforms.  Heathen #3 is finally old enough to wear the tan shirt of the "big boys" and I needed to move the patches to his new shirt.  After I had switched over the patches, I had him try it on - and the grin of pride was, like his brothers, amazing to behold.  He was so proud to wear that shirt and commented that now, "my shirt is just like Daddy and the boys' shirts."  He knows his father and brothers have attained something worth striving towards and he set himself the same goal of becoming an Eagle.  He frequently worries (at the age of 9) that there won't be any "good" Eagle projects left by the time he is old enough.

But, as I sat and stitched, I realized that for the first time in ten years, I won't have a little boy in my house that is wearing a blue shirt.  We've reached the end of an era in our household.

Our little blue shirt is finally retired - but it has served the Heathens well.  That shirt took my Heathens places and it taught them things.  It taught them that they were capable (even at the young age of 6) of setting a goal and working towards it.  I remember handing it to each of them to wear for the first time and seeing their excitement.  And they all wore it the day each of them looked at their father and me and said, "I am going to be an Eagle Scout."

Little Blue Shirt - thank you for what you have taught my Heathens.  You will always hold a special place in my heart.

The Heathens' Momma

Heathen #1 Installs Signs

The Eagle Scout Project continues!  Signs have been built and installed - although watching a bunch of Scouts dig holes and pack concrete was truly entertaining.  They are a great bunch of kids that will turn out to be good men someday.

Eight signs built and installed.  The map is almost complete.  Another week, and he'll be finished with the project.  Then, on to completing and submitting his packet and board of review to complete successfully.  I couldn't be prouder of him. 

Well done, Heathen.

Eeww! No Thanks!

The science fair is FINISHED.  I'll readily admit to being a bad mother and discouraging my Heathens from participating in the school science fair.  It is a long, drawn out process and another thing to do in the busy evenings.  I've managed to interest the Heathens in other things every year!  But this year, I failed.  Heathen #3 was determined to participate and I could not persuade him.  WHO taught this Heathen that he should try new things?  I blame the Asst. Zookeeper!

He decided to see which soda would rot your teeth the most, which involved floating hard boiled eggs in mason jars of soda for four weeks - which smell WONDERFUL when opened, let me assure you!  He was thrilled with the whole thing, from the planning, to the labelling, to the notating, to the poster, to the judges - it couldn't have gotten any better (in his opinion).  The whole process made me crave alcohol.

His judge was a local dentist that volunteered to be one of the judges - which was perfect!  Who better to discuss this project with but a dentist!  Heathen #3 came out of the judging with a HUGE grin on his face to tell me that Dr. Mike said if he, "wanted to do another project about teeth to let (him) know and he would give (Heathen #3) REAL TEETH that he had pulled from patients! Wouldn't that be fantastic, Momma? I wouldn't have to worry about breaking the eggs!"

Yes, Heathen.  That WOULD be FANTASTIC. (Be sure to read this line with heavy sarcarsm.)

I need to either find a great idea for next year (that DOESN'T involve teeth in any way) or work on my bribing skills.

Heathen #1's Eagle Scout Project Begins!

NEW milestone at the Zoo!  Heathen #1 has officially begun his Eagle Scout project!  Although he has had approval for a few months, he decided to wait until fall to begin.  He has decided to clear four trails at Living Waters Camp & Conference Center, located in Schellsburg, PA.  All three of our Heathens attend church camp here, and so did I and my siblings, and my father and his siblings as children.  Needless to say, I am thrilled with his choice of project!  He will also be building trail signs and mapping the trails as well.

The seriousness and dedication he has shown to this point is heartwarming - and occasionally earns a chuckle from me.  Having set himself a goal at the age of 6, the completion is almost in sight for him - and he is NOT taking any chances.

He packed up the tools needed and planned a work weekend!  He and his friends from the Troop cleared several miles of trails, working much faster than anticipated.

Now, he needs to design and build signs for all the trails, install the signs, map the trails on foot, and create a map!

Nothing to it (just 10 years of dedication to a goal).  Well done, Heathen.

Ode to the Asst. Zookeeper

The Asst. Zookeeper has done a dis-service to the rest of the population of "significant others."  And, sadly, because I have spent the past 17 (!!!) years of my life with him, sometimes I fail to notice it.  But this fact truly jumped to my attention this week.

This past Sunday, I loaded up 7 scouts from our Cub Scout Pack, along with 2 additional parents, and we headed to resident camp - an overnight camp that last from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday evening.  The scouts range in age from 7 to 10.

The Asst. Zookeeper helped me with all the loading of equipment - and thankfully thought of a few items that I had forgotten to put on the packing list.  He then spent his Sunday afternoon pulling a trailer to camp and assisting me with getting the boys all set up.  He did most of the set up alone while the scouts were touring the camp - I came back to a campsite that was ready to go.

Then he stayed late into the night to make the scouts' their snack - cinnamon rolls in the dutch ovens.  He didn't head home from camp until almost 11 pm.  And he had to be up and out the door for work by 5 am the following morning.  Did I mention camp is an hour from home?

Monday evening, he left work and came straight back out to camp.  The Asst. Zookeeper proceeded to heat up the dutch ovens again and proceeded to make 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies for snack.  And again, he didn't leave camp until almost 11 pm.

Tuesday evening, he went straight home after work because we were having pizza in our treehouse with my nephew.  After a full day of work, the man was willing to crawl up into the treehouse with a two-year-old and eat pizza on paper plates.

Wednesday evening, he headed straight to camp from work to help tear everything down so that the scouts could come home.  We didn't get to the house until after 8 pm.

Around 11 pm, we were sitting in bed and watching some sitcom on television.  I was checking Facebook on my phone.  One of our friends had posted something very sad.

"Sad day at the O---- household. Bob the raccoon and her baby got hit by a car last night. The girls are broken hearted."

Her family has spent the past few years feeding a raccoon they named "Bob" before discovering that "he" was really a "she."  They have watched Bob and her babies every summer.  Unfortunately, Bob and this year's baby were hit by a car on Wednesday evening - right beside their driveway.  The girls were understandably upset.  Their mother was making a point of turning the other direction out of the driveway so that the girls wouldn't see the poor raccoons every time they left the house.

We live less than a mile from this friend.  I looked over at the Asst. Zookeeper and asked him, "Any chance you want to drive over and move the raccoons off the road?"  He just looked at me for a minute.  Then he got up, put his shoes on, and headed out the door.  When I looked out the window, all I could see was him, with shovel in hand, headed for his truck.

The Facebook post the following morning:
"Not sure if it was a coincidence or an awesome act of kindness...but both raccoons are gone. The girls noticed right away and were so relieved. THANK YOU!!!!"

While I wish more people were married to someone like my Asst. Zookeeper, unfortunately, I'm not planning to let him go anytime soon.

To my Asst. Zookeeper:
You spoil me shamelessly.  You tolerate my quirks, usually with a smile and a shake of your head.  Thank you - I am a VERY lucky girl.  Love ya!

A Glimpse of My World

While there are some days when I want to rip my hair out because the Heathens frustrate me, there are many more days like this one:

Found this on the stove this morning, waiting for me to wake up.

Yup, LOVE my Heathens.  Even when they drive me insane, they can still melt my heart.

Three Miles Worth of Condom Thoughts

For those that are unaware, I'm a runner.  Most times a dedicated one, but not always.  There are many "loops" around the Zoo that I use depending on time available and how dedicated I'm feeling on any particular day.

While I run, I listen to music - it helps to pass the time and occasional boredom of looking at the same landscapes.  However, sometimes the thoughts that run through my head are so loud that I don't realize that the music is still playing until I'm done running and have to turn it off.

This occurred last week:

I was not feeling overly dedicated and the weather was a bit muggy.  I picked the three mile loop that circles the Zoo.  I was only about 100 feet out of our driveway when the loud thoughts began.

I'm accustomed to seeing trash along the road when I run.  The Zoo is situated along a highway.  I've seen food wrappers, cups, etc.  But I came across my first condom along the edge of the road.  Here are the thoughts:

Yuck!
Who would do that?
Wonder which way he was driving?
Was he driving alone?
One of my neighbors?
Did the event happen in the car?
If so, why start home with that still with you?
If it didn't happen in the car, why take it INTO the car?

At this point, I passed a SECOND condom!  Only about 100 feet further up the road!  And the thoughts went faster!

Same person?
Traveling the same direction as the first?
Different people?
Could definitely be different people!
What if he has two girlfriends!
What if they don't know about each other!
Wonder how far apart (time wise) those were tossed out the window?
What if the events are COMPLETELY unrelated?
What are the chances that two condoms end up on the same road that
      close together, but tossed out windows by different people?

AND AT THIS POINT I PASSED A THIRD CONDOM!

GOOD LORD!
What are the chances?
Run this loop for 18 months and watch the cars pass.  Now look what I find!
Three people?
With three separate people?
One person with three girlfriends?
Do the girlfriends all live around me?
Wonder where the closest "pull off" location is to here?  Lots of trees
     and fields around.
Who lives in these houses?
What if the girlfriend isn't single?!?!?
INTERESTING...
If it was three separate people, what are the chances of this happening?
I wonder if I would use this as an example of probability and
     statistics in a math class?
The students would definitely pay attention.  Would I get in trouble with the college?
If I was at home and had paper and pencil, I could draft the example problems.
Wonder what concepts would fit this example the best?
If I had chosen a different career path, I would be able to run the tests
      to KNOW if it was different people?!?!?!
Do I know anyone in that field that I could coerce into running the tests for me?
I should carry rubber gloves when I run.  Never know when you might
     need to collect test samples.
Wonder how many classes I would have to take to be able to run those types of test?
How long will I have to run past the condoms?
Are those biodegradable?
I'll have to check the packaging next time I go to the store.  It may
     state how long they take to disintegrate.
That would be an interesting science fair project!
I don't think I want to take that phone call from the school.
Would the school call or would I just get a letter?
Imagine having to place that phone call!  "Sorry, but your son can not do
     an experiment on how long it takes different brands of condoms to
     biodegrade along the roadside as his science fair project.  Wouldn't
     you like to build a paper mache volcano?"
Might be a better high school project!  Definitely easier to collect used
     condoms at that age level.
Imagine trying to collect the data!  Schools have bins for collecting things
     all the time!
"Used condoms here" I can see the sign!
Wonder if the people would help fill out the information you would need
     for the experiment: brand of condom, date, time and location of use, etc.
If the project was about being biodegradable, imagine having to
     choose a road for the experiment!!!
And people get upset when they do road construction - imagine it!
Would the condoms all have to be thrown from moving vehicles?
      Wonder if that would affect the rate of decay?
That would be interesting to run past! All the condoms would be
     labeled and you could collect data on your daily run!

At this point, I had completed my three miles and was back in my own driveway.  However, the thoughts have not stopped!  They still randomly pop into my head at times.

I haven't run that loop since.  Rather afraid to see what might still be there - or not!