Blue and Gold Banquet

The Cub Scouts meet just down the road at the Warriors Mark United Methodist Church.  One night Jim came home and asked Parker if he wanted to join the Boy Scouts.  He told Parker that they would do fun crafts and learn skills.  I was a little leery that it was just one more thing for me to do, one more place for me to have to run to.  Jim took responsibility of helping Parker and going with him.  Preston even tags along and can't wait until he is old enough to join the tiger scouts next year.

I don't know what is considered the normal rate of advancements in the cub scouts.  Parker has already received his Bobcat and Wolfe Badges.  He joined last September. 

Parker has a great leader that has been in scouting for the last 30 years, so you know that he has a love for the scouting program. 

Parker enjoys going to scouts every week.  And some of those "crafts" that they have made have been more than just cutting paper and gluing it together.  They made picture frames out of wood, marshmallow shooters, leather flash light holders and a wooden basketball game type of thing that had a back board and a ball that you tried to shoot into the hoop.  Sounds pretty awesome to me.

We had the Blue and Gold Banquet 2 weeks ago.  I have attended these banquets in the past, but this was the 1st time that my son was participating.  It was wonderful to see everyone in their uniforms, especially the older boy scouts with their collection of badges. 

Speaking of badges, I had made the decision that I was going to iron on the badges instead of hand sewing them.  The fabric is so thick that it really hurts my hands to try and work the needle through the patches.  Being the quilting and sewing person that I am, I had some heat and bond that I thought would do the job.  I cut the bonding material and then ironed on the patches.  Well half way dinner I could see the patches were not adhering as well as I would have liked them to stick.  I will have to find another way of securing the badges to his shirt.  Here are some pictures from the evening.

 Don't these 2 look they could pass as brothers or cousins?

Everything in scouts is family oriented, so the whole family is involved when they get a new badge.

Is there a Dr in the house?

Last night was the Spring Banquet for Centre Life Link, the EMS station that Jim volunteers so much of his time.  I was more than ready to have a nice evening in return for the all lonely evenings that I spend doing homework by myself and putting the boys to bed by myself.

The event was held at the local country club in State College.  And this local country club has joined forces with the Ramada Inn, I knew we were in for a culinary delight.

The first item of the evening was what to wear.  I have seen some of these EMT girls.  They definitely eat their Wheaties for breakfast being able to lift litters with bodies on them.  As I have experienced from the past, some women go all out and get a fancy cocktail dress to wear.  Others throw on a pair of Dockers and they are dressed up.  When I asked Jim what he was wearing, so that I might dress appropriately to be on his arm he hadn't thought that far ahead. So much for his help.


Jim decided on a shirt and tie accompianed by his "Law and Order" sweater.  In case you were wondering what I call the "Law and Order" sweater, here you go.  Jim's sweater is minus the badges. 

This is what I decided on.

We were dressed very appropriately for the evening.  And the clothing went from extremely casual to cocktail dresses.  I saw a lady in jeans and there was a gentleman in jeans and sweatshirt.  There were a few ladies in super short, glittery cocktail dresses.  In fact one of the girls at our table, her coat was longer than her dress. 

Speaking of our table, we were the oldest ones at the table.  We were surrounded by college age volunteers, who drink their calories and have the metabolism to keep up with their large plates and drinks. 

The food was amazing.  The menu consisted of cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, salad, pasta salad, potato salad, roasted red potatoes, rice pilaf, baby carrots and green beans, vegetarian lasagna, chicken breast, roast beef, rolls and an assortment of cake for dessert. 

There were door prizes that had been donated by local businesses.  One of the prizes was from Trader Joes, was a resuable shopping bag filled with goodies from their store.  The crowd was not very excited about this environmentally friendly gift.  I would have loved this gift.  One of the gifts was for a hotel night stay went to a young man that brought his parents to the banquet.  That brought quite a laughter from the crowd. 

There must of been 100 people there.  It was great to see so many people that support the local ambulance. And to know there were several supporting spouses and partners in the room.  I thought about this, it would be the perfect time to have a medical emergency with all of those EMTs in the room.  The coroner was even present, so there wouldn't be long wait to be declared dead.


It was a really nice evening.  I had a small realization of the importance of the work Jim is volunteering for.  Sometimes I just see the lonely side of things.

Rhythm

Rhythm is a Dancer.
I got Rhythm.
The Rhythm of Life.

Just a few songs with the word rhythm in them. 

I tried a Zumba class 2 weeks ago.  I had been meaning to for quite some time, but just never really put it on the calendar.  I quite enjoyed myself.  It was a good workout and I felt wonderful afterwards.  The music was fun and upbeat.  The instructor was great.  She has a lot of confidence to direct a class in front of a wall of mirrors.  It was in front of these mirrors that I realized that I think I am a better dancer than I am.  As I looked around the room some ladies are better than others.

Everyone was very welcoming and accepting.  It didn't matter how old you are or what shape your body is in.  I did wear a green shirt my first day and so did 2 other ladies in the class.  They did joke about green being the color of the day.  No one was judgmental on my lack of coordination on some of the moves.  I am pretty good with footwork, but when you throw in rotating hips and arms it becomes a little more complicated.  

This all made me think of a comment my mother made many years ago.  My sister, Rebecca was 3 and I was 16.  She pointed out that my sister had better rhythm at 3 than I did at 16.  Does this mean the ability to keep the beat is a born gift?  Or is it something that can be learned? 

Keeping the beat is really something that I struggle with in playing the piano.  I wonder if this has anything to do with the rhythm I have within me.

Anyway I am not giving up zumba, dancing or playing the piano.  They are all things that I enjoy.  And I hope with more practice that I become good at zumba.  I may look funny on the dance, but I am having a good time.  And that is all that matters.