In the early 1970s, yours truly was a girl scout. Those were fun times. A small band of girls in southern West Virginia met weekly in Mrs. Williams’, our scout leader, home. You may recall her from a December post on Christmas memories. Growing up in rural West Virginia limited what we could o in our area. We didn’t have malls, restaurants, or movie theaters to hang out at easily. The closest mall was a two-hour drive from our home. Restaurants and the theater were almost nearly the same driving distance.
Joining the Girl Scouts group was really convenient, though. Mrs. Williams only lived 10-15 minutes from my house and if I needed to then I could walk to her home. Her kitchen became command central for our meetings. During the cooler months, we kept to indoor activities. We would have craft projects scattered all across her table without so much as one complaint. What a dear woman!
Once spring arrived, we were outdoors. We would hike up and down the mountains near our home. There were no trails to follow, just a general idea of where to go was all we needed or so that’s the way it seemed to me. Mrs. Williams had everything under control.
As spring melted into summer, then our time was often spent with weekend outings. Although the group made an occasional trip away from home, it wasn’t always necessary. We didn’t have to go far to have fun. Mrs. Williams’ yard served many purposes for a bunch of rowdy girls. We would pitch an enormous size tent in her backyard where we’d have some of our over-night camping. During the day, we’d play games such as Red Rover, Tag, and Hide & Seek. As sunlight painted the evening sky, we’d build a huge bonfire. We enjoyed sitting beside the toasty flames roasting marshmallows, singing songs, or telling ghost stories.
One thing I always liked doing was selling Girl Scout cookies or maybe it just was I liked eating them so much. Whatever the reason, it gave me a purpose…a drive to be competitive with my fellow scout members. Anyone who says being competitive is bad for a kid’s self-esteem is wrong. In fact, it’s the opposite, in my opinion. Was I good at selling Girl Scout cookies? Eh, I say about average. There were girls who could sell the socks off my feet. That’s how good they were OR maybe it’s all the doings of their moms. There’s something to ponder on.
Being in the Girl Scouts was fun and rewarding for the two years I belonged. Like all good things, this came to an end when Mrs. Williams decided to call it quits. We were all heart-broken with her decision, but inside I was certain she had a good reason to step down. I’m thankful, she gave all of us something to look forward to in those early years. She made us believe in ourselves and to realize there was more in the world than what we knew there in the mountains of southern West Virginia.
Have you hugged a troop leader today?
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Wedding Bell Favors will remind most people of a wedding no matter what setting it chimes in. Weddings stimulate our ears just as much as our taste buds, eyes and noses. Think of the wedding march, forks hitting plates, and the crisp ding of wine glasses tapping together. Most weddings do not have actual bells chiming from the roof, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add them into your wedding on a s
maller scale.Wedding Bells
I have one grandson who is a Boy Scout and one who is a cub scout. the granddaughter is too young but I’m sure she will be a Brownie soon. My son’s were in Civil Air Patrol and learned some very valuable life lessons too. Cute post.
I had a very brief stint as a Girl Scout. Actually I was asked to leave due to disrupting meetings by laughing to much when my best friend’s Mom would sing a song to start the meeting. I could barely contain myself….she had said if I couldn’t stop myself from laughing hysterically to please not return….so….I didn’t. If I heard her singing it again today I would still laugh!
@Hillary…thank you for the invite to play Four Fill-In. That looks like a lot of fun and am looking forward to linking up early next week to play.
@Caren…Oh you’re hopeless! Giggling at your friend’s mom? Oh wait, that was out loud laughing, right? You better not start in on me when I start singing like a song bird. Hmmm, I take that back because chances are my son has already insulted me. Okay, so I sound like a cat being strangled when I sing, but all that counts is my intent. I like to think I’m making a joyous sound unto the Lord. Well…a sound anyhow…you know He has a good sense of humor when He gave me my singing voice. Go ahead, laugh away, Caren! You’ll be in the presence of good company and you don’t have to fear because I won’t ask you to leave. =D
I had a very brief stint as a Girl Scout. Actually I was asked to leave due to disrupting meetings by laughing to much when my best friend’s Mom would sing a song to start the meeting. I could barely contain myself….she had said if I couldn’t stop myself from laughing hysterically to please not return….so….I didn’t. If I heard her singing it again today I would still laugh!
Great story… Girl scouts wasn’t big where I grew up, so I never joined. However, whenever I saw them selling cookies, I was always jealous. I saw your comment on the house on the corner blog asking about the Friday Fill in hop. I am actually planning on doing it every week – this was my first attempt. I would love if you checked it out: http://wwwfeelingbeachie.blogspot.com/
@Donnie…awesome news to her your grandsons are in the scouts. This is really a good structured environment for kids. I think these programs for the most part help to keep kids out of trouble and focused on good things. Have an awesome weekend!
I have one grandson who is a Boy Scout and one who is a cub scout. the granddaughter is too young but I’m sure she will be a Brownie soon. My son’s were in Civil Air Patrol and learned some very valuable life lessons too. Cute post.