What Now

Scouting

When Billy was in Second grade we joined Cubscouts. He was an adorable little wolf. Mike and his brothers are Eagle Scouts and my dad was a Life Scout. I always just figured it would be something my boys would do. When it was time to go on to the next rank with Billy Mike and I had to have a long talk. We weren't enjoying it as a family, we didn't have the same parenting styles as the leader at the time, so it ended up feeling uncomfortable. We don't believe in rewarding bad behavior and that's what we were seeing. So we chose to try to find another den but just didn't have much luck so we gave up after a few months.

The a few years later Shea was invited to a Cubscouts's event. Funny enough it was the same Pack Billy had been part of. There was a rotation of families, and growth in the group we immediately felt welcomed. These were families we could see ourselves BBQing with. Shea's Den leader had a lot going on, so I stepped in helping here and there and then before I knew it I was assisting lead Shea's Den with another parent. The joke is Scouts is only an hour a week, they make that koolaid strong though. The meeting is an hour, and then you plan for the meeting, oh maybe you should go to this training. Then there are hikes, clean ups, hands ons, and camp outs. We jumped in with both feet, they welcomed us as a family even though Billy was a year too old for Cubscouts.

Eventually I was comfortable enough to explain why Billy wasn't in scouts. We couldn't find the right fit for us, and that was all it took. Rob a scout leader in our Pack took the boys to an event while Mike and I worked a wedding and Billy could check out the other local scout troops. He found his comfort zone with the boys who built a monkey rope bridge.

The next week we went to our first Boy Scouts meeting. Billy was a quiet kid but like our Cubscouts they welcomed us as a family, so little brother Shea tagged along learning everything his brother did. If Billy sold popcorn Shea was by his side making him less shy. That first meeting they gave Billy a goals form with a list of achievements and you got to pick your top three, I loved and was kind of amazed how my shy boy picked: becoming an Eagle Scout, going to Jamboree, going snow camping.

We tried to give him some space so he could connect with the other boys. He lost his cell phone on his first campout with out mom or dad, only to find it two weeks later in his sleeping bag. He earned his first rank of Scout and had started working his way to go to scout camp that summer.

Billy didn't have long with his troop, but whenever we were home, and his blood counts were high enough, he'd ask to go to a meeting. If he couldn't go to his troop, he looked forward to seeing the boys he knew from his brother's Cubscouts. These boys were the ones with families coming to visit at the hospital. They welcomed Shea into their homes for a week so he could camp with the guys. There was nothing like Billy's smile as he camped or went on a tour of the USS Hornet pushing himself to do everything he could. Then letting his little buddies push him around in his wheelchair.

These parent and kids still wear their Billy's Fighter Bracelets eight months after his passing. Billy's Troop and Shea's showed support by teaming with my 20-30 club for a big fundraiser, and then meal train during and after treatment. They are our Scout family, these boys know and loved Billy and I cherish the way they honor his memory and now all act like a brother to Shea.