Monday, March 18, 2013

Derby or not Derby...that is the question

Our son is in the Cub Scouts.  It is our son who wears the uniform, earns the badges and belt loops, and it is our son who had a Pinewood Derby race yesterday.  Therefore, we allowed him to design and decorate his car. 

Big mistake.

When Pinewood Derby cars come out, so do the childhoods (and tool sets) of their fathers.  Scott said there were AMAZING cars there yesterday... and then there was Josiah's...

Josiah did have help from our friend, George who used his saw and sander to follow Josiah's design.  Josiah did use my Sharpies to decorate it (it looked amazing, by the way), but there was NO WAY it was going to win against the modern marvels waiting at the race.   These boys and their "pit crews" had spent hours shaping, weighing, painting, re-weighing, repainting, etc. to create the masterpieces.

Although he consistently got third in all but one of his races and came home only with a Participation ribbon,  he is proud of his car.  He made it.  He designed it.  His name is neatly written in 3rd grade writing on the underbelly of his creation. 

I don't remember the last time I did something I was truly proud of; I know, good Christian women should not be proud, but you know what I mean. I don't recall the last time that I felt joyful about a project on which I worked, assignment I completed, or hoop through which I jumped.

I need to change that.  I think my perspective on work would change if I remembered the reason I started doing it in the first place. 

Make it a great week...or take our some Sharpies and at least make it LOOK like a great week :)

Amberly




1 comment:

Unknown said...

We went through the same thing with our boys and Pinewood Derby...and every year, after MUCH reflection, we determined to do it the same way the next year...and yes, the boys were proud of their work.
LOVE what you said about being joyful with our own endeavors, also...a good reminder.
Blessings on you, my friend.