Eagle Scout Ceremony:: Great Prep for the Future

I would say that planning an Eagle Scout Court of Honor Ceremony and Party is pretty much a dry run for a big Graduation Party.  Let's just say that I now understand why Senior Parents look so exhausted in May.  All worth the effort for a day to remember for years to come; but boy that was some work!  I kept thinking I should be getting my own Eagle Scout Award.  Well I kinda did; the mother's pin.  That word alone makes me chuckle because that was the only part of the party I didn't really run through in my head before hand and it's where the funniest part of the day happened.

Now before I pull out all the gushy parts about the pride I felt that day or the joy it was to see this first big milestone happen in my son's life, here are few of the "outtakes" of the day and the planning.  The small details I don't want to forget.  I'll gush and awe later..

My Top Five Eagle Scout Memories:

1. The Video.  I am not a video producer.  I barely know how to edit my photos on Picasa, but for some reason I was sure I could create the movie of the boys scouting years.   I gathered all the photos I could from Tiger Cubs on up and put them all on Picasa, uploaded Mr J's photos, and then tried to mesh the two into something looking like a video.  Good Start.  Hours of work. However, when it came to adding music, I just couldn't get it to work.  After three straight days of working on the video with no luck, I casually said to Mr C that it would just be without music.  He went on my computer and in ten minutes had uploaded everything to Windows Movie Maker and had two song synced perfectly.  Ten minutes max.  At that moment, I wondered if he would live to see the video at the party, because I wanted to kill him.  Where had he been for the past week?
   
   
2. Centerpieces.  I originally had big plans to make centerpieces with flags and Eagle Scout emblems in mason jars. Pinterst Quality of course.  Then my friend S who was my co party planner and mother of Mr J found a bunch of already made items that we could use for the centerpieces. Parts from various parties in the past that had been stored away with all the Troop Materials.  S asked me if I was willing to just use what we had.  You betcha!  Isn't that what scouting and sanity are all about; using what is already available.  I loved working with Ms S on this party because not only were we both willing to do what it took to make this a nice event, we weren't crazy about making it over the top elaborate.
   
   
3. Family and Friends.  We were so blessed that both my and my husband's family were able to join us for the celebration of this accomplishment.  P's folks and brother came all the way from Chicago for the weekend.  As Mr C said, "this was so far one of his biggest events in his life; a goal he set for himself years ago was realized and sharing that with your family really is priceless."  I was so touched that so many of the dear friends and neighbors who have been a part of making C the young man he is were there to celebrate.  We had about 60 people from just our "side" come out to support him. Wish I could have invited everybody who has been a part of C's life; but the catering budget was only so big.  Totally Amazing.
   
   
4. Ceremony Itself.  There really is no way to tell yourself to sit back and relax and enjoy the show at one of these "life events," but that is exactly what I told myself all day I wanted to do.  I wanted to be involved enough in what was happening to be excited, but also to observe and soak it all in.  I wanted to be like Mary and "ponder" the day.  I did.  I really enjoyed seeing the Scouts do all the parts of the Court of Honor and watch my son and Mr J recite the oath and promise.  It's really a big deal, the accumulation of a lot of work and a great honor.  In many ways, the event was very sacred.  So thrilled that our pastor was able to come and pray blessing over the boys.
   
   
5. The "Pinning."  Now this is when the funniest part of the day occurred.  Mr C had asked me to wear a sweater or a jacket or a blazer, but the dress I found included none of the above.  It was in fact a silky dress with a high boat neck collar, but I promised him that it would be ok to just bend the collar over and insert the pin; modesty in tact.  However, I did not anticipate that he did not know how to unpin and pin.  He fumbled and fumbled and then make the comment that we hadn't practiced this part of the ceremony and there was no Scout Badge for pinning.  It was lighthearted and fun and finally Mr C was able to pin it on.  Thankfully, the father pin went much smoother.

All in all the Eagle Scout ceremony and party was exactly what we'd dreamed for the event; a time to honor Mr C and to be with important people in his life.