The Showdown

It seems that every two or three weeks Bear and I have this showdown. It's like a Wild West kinda showdown. The sort where you hear the shutters slamming of people heading indoors and shops closing up. The tumble weed is drifting down the street, and him and I meet in the middle of road. Our eyes meet and the stare down begins. The looks we give each other are similar to the final showdown in the cemetery scene in the movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, theme music and all.

Ok, well maybe I exaggerate just a little, but sometimes it feels like the melodrama in my home is reaching toxic levels.

The catalyst? Boy Scouts.

Bear has been in Cub Scouts since he was in second grade. He has his Bobcat, Wolf,  Bear, Webelos badge, and he just completed his Arrow of Light. About two weeks ago he had this great cross over ceremony and now he is an official Boy Scout. AWESOME!

When we were stateside he wasn't all that interested in Scouts because the Pack wasn't very big or very active. Well here in Germany, you couldn't ask for more involved volunteers to head up Scouting. It's truly amazing! Side note: Thanks to those who volunteer! You are amazing!

Continue....

So what is the problem? One word: gaming.

I have a gamer. He loves his X-Box and I think his X-Box loves him. I'm actually willing to place money on it. He would rather game than just about anything else this world has to offer. He is in gamer groups, and he is good at it, but it takes up quite a bit time and it keeps him sedentary. Which I am not happy about. So at times he gets himself in a tizzy because I am using up precious gaming time. Hence the Boy Scouting issue. And as I mentioned in a previous post.... he was Scouting all day Saturday. So that makes TWICE this week. Stop the presses! Not TWO day?! The nerve of some people!

It had been about three weeks with no Scout conflict and we were due for a round.

He says to me tonight that he wants to quit Scouts. Really? I sigh and ask him why he wants to quit. Exasperated before the question is even out. Ready to pull my hair out one by one with a pair of pliers.

This is the condensed version of the heated conversation:

Bear: "It takes up too much of my time."


Me: "What would you be doing otherwise? Playing on your X-box?"


Bear: "Yes! What else is there to do?"


Me: "Uh Scouts?! That is why I have you in Scouts. So that you have something else that you can do!"


Does anyone else see the faulty logic in his thinking?

So after a round or two of whether or not to quit, why sticking with something is important, why he might regret it someday in the future, and blah blah blah Mommy crap, I say to him:

"If you can get your dad to approve you quitting, then I will leave it alone. " I failed to mention to him that I volunteered to chair the membership committee so that quitting really isn't a long term option. Eh, but what the hell.... let him ask his Dad.

Do you think he said anything to his dad with whom he was Facebooking? NOPE.

So off to Scouts we went.

How did it go?

He was assigned his patrol today.
He was thrilled!
He got his patrol badge today. "Mom you have got to sew this on for me." 
Thrilled some more!
There is no patrol leader yet.
He wants to be the patrol leader.
More excitement!

As we get into the car he says to me, "I'm going to try my best at the Camporee so that I can get that Patrol Leader spot!"


That is all I ever wanted. Stick with it and try your best! It's the Boy Scout motto for crying out loud!

So how long before we are back to "I wanna quit Scouts" again? Hopefully the showdowns will be fewer and further between. Especially as I start to dish out lotsa $$$ for the new uniforms and eventually the camping equipment. That would not be good. Not good at all... for Bear.