man up, please

for the past two years i have been left out of the boy scout summer activity. i had gone to scout camp or high adventure for the past 10 years prior to this most recent history. my responsibilities at church no longer require that i accompany the boys; in fact they require that i participate with the young women instead.

recent events perpetrated by the boys themselves have made me less saddened by my having been left behind.

last summer, a group of boys decided to have some fun with one of the raccoons that had been frequenting their campsite on previous nights. they stoned it to death and began the process of skinning it. the boy with the knife slipped in his work and skinned himself by slicing up his thumb. i don't believe in karma, but it is an interesting situation. i assume the raccoon was left to rot where it was, so that's nice.

this year they went to new mexico. i heard stories of some of the boys being unwilling to help with any of the chores around the campsite. as i understand - setting camp, cleaning, cooking, and packing up are the responsibility of everyone in the camp. additionally, only two of the boys were willing to go on the hike up to a mountain lake. i should be ashamed to be so weak and lazy. i'm sure i don't know what to say.

while it makes me sad to hear of the less-than-stellar behavior of the some of the current crop of boys in the ward, it does remind me of how great my son is and how i want him to behave when he is older. at eight he has already accomplished some pretty difficult outdoor adventures that these boys 10 years his senior might likely not attempt. it also makes me less concerned about missing next year's trip.

i sure am proud of jackson. he's a good boy.