Scoutmaster

They've made me a scoutmaster in my church. I've been associated with the scouting program since I was eight years old and I have always enjoyed it. You'll never here me complain about being asked to help out in scouting.

I have fond memories of my scoutmasters. For the first few years my dad was it. He was always a different man when we were out camping. Not better, not worse, just different. I feel like I know him better because of the time that I spent watching him interact with my friends. My second scoutmaster was the scoutmaster in his troop for decades. He still had the scouting spirit burning strong when I moved back to my hometown a decade after leaving. He was awarded the Silver Beaver for his decades of selfless service.

I see the young men I am teaching now and I marvel at the potential they all have. We're going camping tomorrow, (I'm writing this late Thursday night,) and once again I find myself feeling that thrill of anticipation before the big event. I'm scoutmaster to one of my own boys. I hope he'll have the same fond memories of scouting with his father that I do. I hope that decades from now, I'll still love scouting and the joy of teaching scouting to young men. I hope that some day my boy will look back at his youth and want to be a scoutmaster too. And make a difference in at least on person's life.