Needless to say, I picked up the kids from school and headed to the Scout store. I was looking for those mostly-done derby cars that you basically paint and hammer in the wheels. No go. I should have known the BOY SCOUT STORE was going to want me to make it from scratch!
On limited time, I ran to Michael's...they were out. I ran to Robert's...they were out. I turned to Andrew, and told him there was another store, but a considerable distance away. He said, "Mom, I'm tired of shopping. I don't care if I don't have a car. Let's just go and I'll cheer on my friends." I asked him over and over if that's what he wanted to do, and he assured me it was.
Later that evening, I asked Andrew again if he wanted a car and he matter-of-factly said, "Last year I worked hard on my car, and took second place, and all I got was a small bag of M&Ms." Secretly I was chuckling, but a bit mortified that that's what it all boiled down to for this kid. Where's his sense of competition??? Where's the pride in beating everyone else? (OK...my competitive side is coming out...)
So, we showed up to the church at 6:00 (later found out it didn't start until 6:30) but saw the Scout Master pulling out some cute TROPHIES and putting them on the table. NOTHING woos a little 10-year-old like a trophy! He turned to me and said, "Mom, now I feel a little bad for not making a car."
Not to disappoint, I got on the phone and called not one, but TWO nearby family members to see if they had any "winning" cars we could borrow. (Shameful, I know). Jennifer AND Mom and Dad came through beautifully!!! Michael is apparently WAY into this! He gave us a really cool "shark" car...and...Andrew took second place at the derby.
We realized later that ALL of the boys got trophies. I felt sheepish letting Andrew accept one...but he was proud. Not sure why...he didn't do ANYTHING to earn it! Oh well. Today goes down in history as "bad mothering" episode 7,352.
2 comments:
dude--ALL THREE of those boys look "guilty" of car "borrowing!" dont feel too bad---& look at this way--if the bishop asks you to be the scout mom--(hello i dont even know what its called, can u tell i have NO BOYS!!)you can bring up your "well i did totallllllly cheat at the last pinewood derby!!!"
That is a great story. A big congrats to Andrew for a great finish and cool trophy. This is not a case of "bad mothering". In fact, I think you did a great job considering the circumstances.
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