Oh my, have the years passed quickly from this...
To this. Last night was such a special night, I'm still reeling and can hardly even express my thoughts. I'd imagined what this night would be like, and even sometimes wondered if it would ever come. But through several moves, lost and found records, periods of personal apathy and gung-ho enthusiasm, leaders who were lost and/or apathetic to leaders who were awesome and above-and-beyond...from dysfunctional programs to programs so amazing you wish everyone had the same...Troy arrived at this night, his Eagle Court of Honor.
Knowing they put on a great party, we booked a banquet room at the Butler Officers' Club. It was also an added bonus that it was right down the street in case we forgot anything, not to mention it was WAY easy for people to find (everyone knows where it is) so we didn't have to draw sketchy maps and pray people found the little sign for our church in the dark. Since we were planning in two weeks*, an event that usually takes about 2 months to pull together, it was a HUGE deal not having to worry about any of the food, dishes, set-up, clean-up or other logistical details.
We had so many wonderful friends and family attend and participate in the ceremony. There were various teachers and leaders, and even the Commanding General of the Wing came out, which was very touching. Our friend and Branch President was the Master of Ceremonies and he did such a fabulous job. He asked all the right questions and got every detail squared away before the ceremony. It probably helps that he's in the awards business in his day job as a Marine, too. Did we call that one, or what?
Dan, from the Far East Council, also came and opened up the ceremony for us.
Then, boys from our troop, representing each rank in Scouting, explained what the badge of their respective rank represents, to demonstrate all the ranks Troy had to pass through to get to Eagle Scout. They all looked so sharp!
I love these boys! And not just my own...they are all great young men.
Bro. Kiser came and gave the Eagle Charge. He is over Scouting for our church district, and lends such enthusiasm to the program. When we read the script, we knew we wanted him to do this part. He explained all of the requirements Troy had to meet...the things he now knew how to do...now that he is an Eagle Scout. He did a great job of including all of what was so beautifully written in the script, combined with his usual, Brother Kiser humor and enthusiasm.
Here he is encouraging all the other Scouts to follow the same path. It reminded me of last year, when the Scouts were planning for their first High Adventure trip. It was scheduled for the same three-day weekend as the school's winter formal dance. This was a big deal for the high school Scouts. They only get three dances a year. They were thinking it was an unfair choice, yadda yadda. My boys came home from church and said that Brother Kiser told them, looking back on his life, he doesn't remember the details of one dance he attended in high school...but he remembers every single High Adventure he ever went on, and that the experience would be life changing. I think he pretty much sealed the deal. Every one of those boys chose the High Adventure over the dance. We love Brother Kiser.
This is the part where the video screen came down and we played this video of Troy's journey to Eagle Scout in four minutes. Luckily, I got all my tears out while I was making it, and was just able to enjoy it along with everyone else.
{Trivia: When Troy watched the video as I was burning it to DVD, he chuckled and said, "This video makes me look a whole lot cooler than I am in real life." I thought that was very insightful of him. Not that I don't think he's as cool as the video, but that the video was composed of little snapshots of his life, experiences he has tried, some a few times, some for a year, some for longer...but not that he is a master of everything it featured.}
Then the MoC called these two Eagles (his sons, BTW) to escort Troy up to the front.
And Scoutmaster Cory shared some of Troy's accomplishments in Scouting.
Brother Neal, the Young Men's president, shared some of the future expectations of an Eagle Scout, to remind Troy that it doesn't end here...
And then Scoutmaster Cory led Troy, and all the other Eagle Scouts present in taking (or renewing) the oath of the Eagle Scout.
Look at these awesome Eagles in the Eagles' Nest!
Can't forget the MoC...he's an Eagle, too.
Then I got to pin on Troy's new rank, and he gave me my mother's pin and these beautiful, patriotic roses, and (my favorite part) a hug and a kiss.
Dad gets a father's pin, a handshake and a hug.
Then Troy got to present a pin to the mentor he had chosen. Brother Neal really went above and beyond in helping Troy to achieve this goal. During the times when Troy got lazy or thought it was just too hard, Brother Neal was there to get him back on track. We will be forever grateful for him.
But we couldn't forget Brother Miles back in the IV! After having kind of a rocky start with a dysfunctional Scouting program early on, both of our boys really lost interest in Scouting after leaving Cub Scouts. When we moved out to the IV, we learned that Brother Miles (also an Eagle Scout) had contagious enthusiasm for Scouting (even if understated compared to the uber-enthusiasm of Brother Kiser). He talked about Scouting wherever he went, was always volunteering for different events, even when he wasn't officially called as a leader. This was the kind of guy that, during Scout camp, would drive up the mountain, the 2+ hours to camp when they needed a second leader (it was usually just Cliff who was able to go since he got more vacation than most, being in the military) just to have to turn around and head back to work the next day and repeat. He believed Scouting was the answer to most of the ills of society, and the more I see, the more I believe he is right. Anyway, Troy wanted to also present Brother Miles with a mentor pin, to recognize the impact he had on Troy's desire to give Scouting another chance, and for all the help he gave him in getting to the rank of Life Scout (the rank Troy had when we moved to Okinawa). Brother Miles was officially recognized in the program, and Troy will be sending him his pin. (Thank goodness the BSA allows you to buy extra.)
Then the time was turned over to Troy. I knew he'd prepared a few words, but I thought it would be very few. He thanked the club, the leaders, friends and family, his parents, etc.
He encouraged the other Scouts to push through and become Eagles, telling them it was all worth it. He even shared his strategy of preparing an epic sandwich (step by step) whenever they had a daunting task (like an Eagle packet) ahead of them. It was hilarious and had us all roaring.
As I sat there listening to him, I was just overwhelmed. And it wasn't the usual weepiness like at graduation...it was something different entirely. I was so full of joy and pride, I thought I might burst. I was sitting there listening to how naturally he shared his thoughts, with his trademark quiet confidence, soaking it all in...thinking, "Wow! He really is a man now!" And I didn't feel the slightest bit of angst about it. It was just all good. I was thinking, that even if Troy Stuart wasn't my son, I'd still really like him as a person. I am so grateful to be his mom.
Brother Neal presented him with a memento from the troop...a pair of Shisas with a name plaque on the front. That will be a keepsake, for sure.
Can I just say that this is one of my favorite pictures of all time? What an amazing group of boys and men.
{BTW...Thank you, Brenda, for taking on the photography duties (and Sarah for taking on the filming duties) so that I could just enjoy the evening.}
The awesome Eagles.
Get a load of that flair around my neck. And we're not even finished, yet.
I heart this family.
The catering dept. came up with a perfect, Scout-friendly menu. Mini-sandwiches, spring rolls, chicken skewers, nacho cheese and chips, and everyone's favorite...taco rice cups. They were a huge hit. Whooda thought?
There were also assorted cookies...yum!
And just good ol' water to drink. It's really all about the food.
My friend, Leigha, did this cake. Is this an epic cake, or what?
I knew she did good stuff, and I pretty much gave her carte blanche with this. She did not disappoint. I hope the other boys get their Eagles before she leaves the island just so that she can do their cakes, too.
And you know what they say about Scouts? They are trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent...
And hungry!
Troy did the honor of cutting his cake.
And was very kind to share all the fondant goodies with the other Scouts. It was all edible. They were in heaven.
I was bummed I didn't think to ask for photos of everyone before half the people were gone. At least we have the video of the evening, though.
Cute, cute kids from the 'hood.
Fresh Patrick of Bel Air
We love the Bantas!
Luckily, I caught Brother Kiser as he was headed out the door...
Otherwise, we might have missed out on this shot entirely. And that, my friends, would have been a crying shame.
We drove the .02 km back to our bunker, I put my beautiful flowers in the vase on the entry table, and we collapsed into bed. But sleep was elusive, as I knew it would be. Cliff and I are both extreme extroverts, and an event like this is our crack cocaine. I hate that we can never sleep after parties, especially meaningful events like this one. I replayed the night over and over, mostly the good parts, but some of the "shouldahs," too. I finally did fall asleep, but woke up at the usual 5 AM, with a headache and in a panic. I don't know exactly where it came from, maybe because it's the next big milestone we have looming on the horizon, but more likely it was the questioning (and shock) last night, from some of our friends (of another faith) who had no idea we will not see or hear from Troy for two full years, other than calls on Christmas and Mothers Day, once he leaves for his mission. I've always known this, but the reality that he'd be leaving in six months hit me very hard this morning. Six months is nothing...and although I wouldn't have it any other way, man it's going to be hard. He's just such an important part of our family, not to mention a lot of fun to have around. So I laid there, trying not to wake up Cliff with my crying, but I did anyway. Luckily, he's gotten used to the mood swings over the years, and just quietly stroked my hair. So much for no-more-weepiness. I've watched the video slideshow three times today already, if that tells you anything.
I just want to finish this post by saying how grateful I am for the Scouting program. As I sat there looking around the room last night, at all the righteous men who are brought into my boys' lives through this program, I thought, "Who wouldn't want this for their boys? Who wouldn't want this kind of mentorship to help them navigate the trappings of this life?" It's worth all the hassle, all the lost blue cards, the ripped Scout pants, the patches sewn and re-sewn. It's worth the nagging and frustration.
I also have to add how grateful I am for my husband, who was not a Scouter...did not grow up with it in his life or see the importance of it. It was me who felt my life experience would be less if my boys did not become Eagle Scouts, not Cliff. But just the same, he took off work three years running for the week of Scout camp to give them (and their friends) some of their best experiences, it was Cliff who has been on countless hikes and campouts, in every condition, put up with all kinds of indignity...because our boys having these Scouting experiences is important to me. Just one more reason I love him with every fiber of my being. He is the best.
*You aren't allowed to start planning an Eagle CoH until you receive the official paperwork from Scout Headquarters saying your Scout has been officially deemed an Eagle. We didn't get that paperwork until mid January. Due to upcoming travel plans for several family members for school, work and surgery...if we didn't do this right now, it would be May before we'd be able to pull it off. By then, Troy's missionary prep will be in full swing, and we didn't want to just put a check in the box, since this is really a big deal. So we opted to just skip on all the dignitary certificate-and-letter-ordering hoopla (the thing that takes the most time...we will do it after the fact) and pay out the nose for the catering. It was SO worth it, though. They took care of every detail. I think we'll do the same for the other two, even if we have plenty of time, just because it was so awesome.
