Friendship and family.

I won't say that I am going into this post without some feeling. It is Saturday morning of Pow Wow, and based on the store schedule, I should be heading home from camp tonight for the last time until October. I am not sure what has changed since I began this blog, but I know that change is in the air.

Well, of course it is. A new Camp Director and Program Director will bring new leadership style to those positions. Not better, different. Will I be in the Trading Post, or even on Staff next year? Who can know? So what have I learned, or rather, how have I changed over this past summer?

There are some things that I could sit and throw a pity party about, but I won't, as that would show a lack of learning. I learned that even contrarians need to learn to conform, at least a little, to the rules at hand, regardless of how inconsequential they may seem. After all, a headdress is simply that, a headdress. No, not still carrying it, but this is a retrospective view, and I would be remiss to leave it out.

Let it go Phil, come on!

I feel like I had good interactions with my peers, and we were very successful in the store moving a lot of old product, stuff that has been in the inventory for how many years? At least 8, and maybe more. Sometimes ridding one's self of past burdens, or "inventory" is a good thing. Not to be confused with time tested values and morals, sometimes we are carrying stuff that we don't need to be. We have had these large misting bottles in the store forever, it seems, and maybe we would sell one, or two, a year. This year we slashed the price, and they are gone. Good riddance to those PB Misters. 

Do you have any "PB Misters" in your inventory?

It seems that Camp is about, more than anything, providing support structure for youth, and adults as well. There are many that we lean on for information, as well as support. Sometimes you just need someone to go to, to whine and complain, to throw your "Pity Party", if you will. And that is something that many people do. Sometimes we are the recipient of the pity party, needing to be the ear to listen, or the shoulder, in rare instances, to cry on. The ability to let it out is not easy for some, and usually is only done when a level of trust has been established. None of us want to be seen as weak, and we need to understand that it is not weakness that causes us to vent.

Is there anyone that you know you can go to vent, whine, or cry to?

And then there is that rare glimpse into someone that you had perceived to be completely different than what they are. Maybe completely different is a little strong...

This is the Camp Ranger's last year here at Camp Geiger. He has served in that position for over 27 years. He came into the job with no handoff, and has learned how things work, and what to do to make them work, on the job. He may be set in his ways, but that is because of that experience. He tends to come off on the gruff side when you interact with him, but that is not him. This year has been sort of a victory lap for him, and well it should be, as he has kept the camp running, built numerous fires, and done so with a, relative to the property size and needs, small budget.

It was a conversation that I had with him that is sparking this post. As it was the last day of camp for the season for Scouts BSA (we still had Webelos Camp to go), I was heading to the store, and he was making his rounds early, before it got too hot. We talked for a bit, and he told me something that I will treasure. He simply said "Welcome to the family". This wasn't anything new, as he had mentioned a similar sentiment at the last Wednesday night campfire, but he said it to me. Those who have read the View from the Rim, and early episodes of this blog know that is one of my hang ups, simply feeling a part of this group, the Camp Geiger Staff.

Yes, I know that I have been on staff for four years, and that I am part of the staff, period. That doesn't change the feeling of wanting to be accepted. I have gone through this in earlier posts, as well as my View from the Rim blog, so will not rehash the why's again. I struggle to feel adequate at whatever tasks I take on, and so for John to acknowledge my belonging was very important to me. He has always been gentle in his corrections on my doing my job managing the Trading Post, not in the actual operations, but the logistics, trash, bathrooms, etc. If you are saying to yourself "gentle, John?" well, you know what I mean. Being family, or friends, does not exempt one from those days that are not so good, and we need to understand that, sort of that trust thing I was writing about earlier.

Recognizing that the Geiger family is simply a subset of the greater Scouting family is important. Scouting has been through a lot the past couple of years, the hardest part being dealing with those issues that were buried, swept under the rug, or ignored in the past. As Scouting starts anew, all of the good has carried over, and while the bad can never be completely eliminated, so long as we have learned from that painful past, we will come out the better for it. While money cannot compensate for emotional scarring, a fund has been established to pay out those claims.

The values BSA teach are time proven principles that can lead to a successful life. Scouting has helped numerous youth by providing positive role models that they can look up to, as well as teaching the value of serving others. The Scout Oath and Law set a very high bar that if more followed them, would radically change our society for the better. Yes, I personally acknowledge that I need to do better, but I, like each of you, am a work in progress, and I have terrible balancing putting that one foot in front of the other. But I pick myself up and keep trying. 

And so should we all.