Eagle Powers

This weekend we held a court of honor to award my son his Eagle Scout Award. This is the crowning achievement of ten years of scouting. We are very proud that he went the distance and completed the task. Only two percent of boys that join the Boy Scouts of America go on to earn their Eagle. As with many boys he was about ninety percent complete by the time he was fourteen. Then like many he had other things in his life that caught his attention. When ever we would ask him about it he would always say not to worry he would get it done. Good to his word, as his time was running out he got to work and completed it.

As we gathered pictures of his scouting years to display it was great to review all the fun times. The progression from a little boy in a cub scout uniform to the young man standing at the end of a long hike is amazing. I went with him as often as could through the years. Starting with the day camps as a cup scout, to the week long camps as a varsity. I was there as he learned to ride a horse, learned to cook out doors, pitch a tent and so on. We had some really cold nights and some really wet nights. These are days that will be precious to me for my whole life. I would not trade one of these experiences for anything.

A big payday for me came a few weeks ago. He said that one of the reasons that he went on to complete his eagle was thinking about what I said, "That you are an Eagle for life, or your not an Eagle for life". Anytime you have evidence as a parent that you were heard and it made a difference is a good day.