Justin’s Bobcat, and the Pinewood Derby…

Growing up with two brothers, I was well versed if not a full fledged “tag-a-long sister scout” in all the goings-on of cub scouting.  Naturally, I dreamed of one day having a boy who could cheer with the best of them at a Pinewood Derby!!  Don’t get me started about how much I loved the Rain-gutter Regattas…

Last year was our first Pinewood Derby and I think I was the most excited in our family to be there.  I thought the Pinewood Derby would be the perfect event for Justin—he loves cars and has a similar racing track (albeit on a smaller scale) at home where he loves to watch cars race.

It only took about 10 minutes for me to realize that the Pinewood Derby was not going to work for Justin.  It was held in the church gym, which is spacious and the perfect chamber for echoing noises.  Church gyms and I don’t get along to begin with, since they always send the message to kids to “RUN AROUND LIKE A MONKEY AS CARELESS AS YOU CAN BE!!”  Add to that a room full of 100 people, and a loud microphone—and poor Justin is overstimulated in about 5 minutes, and at 10 minutes starts looking for the door to escape.  He endured and got through it, with quite a bit of whining, but we still declared it a victory—because enduring is half the battle sometimes  ;)

This year we decided to go ahead and give the Derby a whirl!!  So my hubby and Justin set out to make his car.  Justin loves woodworking with hubby and has done a few projects with him in the past.  He even tolerates the noises of woodworking fairly well—like the sound of the saw and and the sander.  He plugs his ears with one hand and helps with the other.  After they got the car sanded down, I got all the paints out so Justin could get started.  I drew a basic angry bird picture and told Justin to “do this” step by step and he was able to replicate the shapes by himself on his car!! He did such a great job!!

Here’s his sweet angry birds Pinewood Derby car…

He endured the event at the church better this year, but at about 45 minutes he was “done.”  He lasted long enough to get his award and then we made a quick exit.  I’m so proud of him!!

Last night was the Blue and Gold banquet and we were excited to go because he had earned his Bobcat.  When I say he earned his Bobcat, I mean he really earned it.  A few months ago a friend of mine pinned a website to Pinterest that allows free printable handwriting worksheets that can be customized for kids.  You can check out the website here. My hubby and I took each of the requirements for Bobcat and printed them out so Justin could write the words.  He ended up loving these worksheets and breezed right through them!!  He’s always enjoyed writing his letters and words.  This printing program was a perfect adaptation we could use that was meaningful.

It amazes me that just a small change in the way we approached the goal with Justin opened a whole new door of growth with him.  That has been the case with Justin in so many things--he has taught us the value of being flexible and thinking outside the box to get things done.  It’s one of those powerful lessons for which I always need a reminder.

The awards part of the Blue and Gold Banquet—where my hubby had to carry our shoeless cub scout up to the front of the room to receive his award—was just another example of how the Lord has taught us to celebrate every moment and not focus on the less-than-perfect aspects of life.  Basically, count your many blessings…

I am so grateful for a patient Father in Heaven who so gently, and sweetly teaches me the lessons I need to learn through my trials.  Even on bad days where everything seems to spiral out of control, if I pull myself away for a quiet moment I can feel the peace and know that somehow, it will all work out.

Here’s my Bobcat momma’s pin—I’ve been waiting a long time for one of these…