The next morning we welcomed three of the troop's senior scouts to our home so they could lead training exercises with a younger scout (my son). Leading the training was necessary to satisfy the rank advancement requirements moving the three of them from Star to Life scout at our recognition banquet tomorrow night. Life scout is the final rank a scout achieves before gaining the rank of Eagle scout. (As a side note, less than 1% of all American men have achieved that goal - these are terrific kids and this milestone is a really good one to celebrate. They are on their way).
So great fun was had watching these young men lend themselves to the development of a younger scout and to watch these brave and accomplished leaders handle the delicacies of offering their required training while simultaneously being whipped at Candyland, Old Maid and Go Fish by my five year-old daughter. We will have a great recognition banquet tomorrow night.
After the boys left, we ran errands related to my nephew's Confirmation at church tomorrow morning. This rite of passage within the Methodist church carries with it a gathering of the clan and an opportunity for hearts bound by common blood to be again warmed by the common experience of family. It will be so nice to see everyone; brother, sister, mom, cousins - just to be with them and smile, hug, drink in their good humor and the pride of another family milestone reached. It will be a great day.
As I said, we were out running errands (new pants for the ever growing 12 year-old who, I am certain, is keeping several textile mills in business with the rate at which he is growing out of his clothes). As it happens we live very near the campus of Michigan State University and Saturday was Commencement Day. Everywhere we drove on campus, we saw moms, dads, proud grandparents and siblings embracing the new graduates dressed as they were in green robes and beaming from ear to ear. There were no obvious estrangements, no observable fears, worries, or resentments - those ordinary human emotions that pop up in relationships from time to time. From the outside looking in, all you could see was love and pride conjoined with relief and anticipation. There too, clans were gathered to jointly mark the day with one of their own. An opportunity not to be missed, a singular moment of shared joy too good to be traded for any other moment at any other locale.
A few of the errands we were running that afternoon also related to the Boy Scout recognition banquet planned for tomorrow night. Given that my son is advancing to a more senior level of scouting, and that he is in my mind an outstanding young man and a fine boy scout to his troop, I'm looking forward to celebrating with him tomorrow night. There will be a similar, albeit smaller, gathering of the clan to mark this milestone. But the emotion is unchanged - an opportunity not to be missed. One more chance to say to one of my family's younger young men "I see you! Do you see me seeing you? 'Cause I was wondering if you saw me seeing you because I wanted you to know how really neat I think you are."
I was reflecting on that sentiment - those goofy but heart-warming words spoken by my mother so many times in my youth - and it dawned on me that THAT is exactly why we celebrate. To come together and say to the celebrant "Do you see me seeing you be great? Because I wanted to make sure you knew I know how really neat you are..."
And I think that is pretty neat.
So wherever you are, whomever you are with, I hope you find the time to celebrate the good things in those around you. We are reminded all too often that the only time we are promised is this exact moment we are living right now. And if we are lucky enough to string together these moments and others like them in sufficient quantity, then we ought not take for granted a chance to join with our families, our friends, those people we think are really neat, in celebration. In the end, it's our joined lives and the very living of them that we are celebrating. To quote the great Bruce Springsteen, "It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."
So thanks for stopping by my blog and including me and my little corner of the world in you being really neat in your little corner of the world.
Dennis
smalltowndad@hotmail.com
