Getting Dad Involved

So Bret's life is pretty much working and hunting. Some times this summer he put in crazy hours at work. 18 hours some days he would work, come home to eat and sleep, then wake up and do it again. Now it is fall, so he is slowing down on work and focusing on his favorite past time, hunting. He works so hard, I think it is important that he has his time to play also. And sometimes because of this, we don't get to see him much. And when we do see him, the kids are so excited and loud that he gets frustrated. Then the kids start to think that he is always just cranky. It is a cycle we have. He really is a good guy that works tremendously hard for our family.

I think there are so many families like this. The parents work so hard that they are exhausted at the end of the day. They don't have the mental state of mind or the energy to keep up with the kids. Children need so much time from us. It is a part of what keeps them healthy.

This is the third year in a row where we had an opportunity with scouts to help produce an activity where parents and their scouts can get some one-on-one. A time where they can get silly if they want. Where they can have a moment of going down to their  children's level. Does everyone who goes to these activities get that out of it? Probably not. Hopefully some do. Because we all need it.

 

Anyway the program for our Masquerade Dance Party goes like this... There were a series of stations: pumpkin decorating, planting a spider plant, bookmarks to make, a Girl Scout Quiz, Ghost suckers, and dancing on the dance floor. Each girl gets a "passport". Each station has a stamp which each scout/parent pair can stamp the passport with when they have completed the station.




Then after snacks

(the ones I brought were made with loving help from my girls)
and singing Happy Birthday to Girl Scouts (in consideration for Juliette Gordon Low's birthday on October 31), each girl can trade her passport in for a gift (dollar store fun prizes like jewelery makers, fuzzy socks, body tatoos, etc.)

At the end all families and troops can go for group photos.



My amazing family minus the boys of course.

This is some of my fab troop. Just as often as I remember to be a good sport, I do so. The more I remember, the happier their childhood becomes. A quote I heard as of recent, which really reminds me of my goals and how to acheive them...

 

"If you decide how you want your home to be, and then make choices that get you nearer to that, things will get gradually better.
If you don't decide, or if you don't think of it many times a day when you make small choices, and decide how to act and react, then things won't get better.

Not every step will be forward, but if most of them are, then you'll make progress." Sandra Dodd

 

It is a hard one to remember, but well worth it. This is how we change our world, change our world, change our world. This is how we change our world, so early in the morning. (in a singsongy voice)

 

UPDATE: Totally forgot Marley's troop :-)