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End of an Era or Time Waits For No One
May. 20th, 2025 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carrot_khanSo two days ago - Sunday? - I did the epic patch sewing day I do on occasion. Sera and Edward both got a baggie of patches from all their scouting hard work and I spent the day putting them on their vests/uniform. Okay - I spent an hour. It doesn't take me that long. Anyway - Edward has crossed over to Second Year Webelo and that means the tan shirt of a grown up scout. I cut all the patches off his little cub scout shirt thinking that "Man, this shirt has seen a lot of time and years served, its still serviceable, I should hand it off to someone who could use it?"
But, as some of the longer-lived patches came off - the world crest and the council patch - it became really obvious how faded it had become, considering the dark blue under the patches. It hurt a little to put it in the garbage. I mean, it was still useable in that there were no tears or stains and all the buttons were still attached, but it had seen at least three cub scouts - if not four (uncertain since the boys were in together) and it had served all of them well. A little sad too, because so many of the kids had worn it, but also a strange sense of relief of having finally passed that marker and those days were finally behind us. I can't save everything, and I already have all their scouting swag set aside for Eagle Ceremonies. The shirt is unnecessary. Maybe.
Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed cub scouts and the kids had fun and that was the whole point, right? But it was a relief to have those days over and to be looking forward to more grown up adventures. Its sometimes hard to reconcile that Edward is a Big Kid because visually/situationally he's constantly being compared to his big lug older brothers and it always make Edward look like a puppy that needs to be helped/babied. He's not. He'll be ten years old in nine days. That's not a baby. When Xander was ten, he was riding his bike down to CVS with a twenty in his pocket to pick up some coffee, diapers, and whatever candy the change could get him in exchange for his services. Edward can certainly do the same. If we let him.
But, as some of the longer-lived patches came off - the world crest and the council patch - it became really obvious how faded it had become, considering the dark blue under the patches. It hurt a little to put it in the garbage. I mean, it was still useable in that there were no tears or stains and all the buttons were still attached, but it had seen at least three cub scouts - if not four (uncertain since the boys were in together) and it had served all of them well. A little sad too, because so many of the kids had worn it, but also a strange sense of relief of having finally passed that marker and those days were finally behind us. I can't save everything, and I already have all their scouting swag set aside for Eagle Ceremonies. The shirt is unnecessary. Maybe.
Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed cub scouts and the kids had fun and that was the whole point, right? But it was a relief to have those days over and to be looking forward to more grown up adventures. Its sometimes hard to reconcile that Edward is a Big Kid because visually/situationally he's constantly being compared to his big lug older brothers and it always make Edward look like a puppy that needs to be helped/babied. He's not. He'll be ten years old in nine days. That's not a baby. When Xander was ten, he was riding his bike down to CVS with a twenty in his pocket to pick up some coffee, diapers, and whatever candy the change could get him in exchange for his services. Edward can certainly do the same. If we let him.
