Silver Award For Troop 2349

Sarah's Girl Scout troop, Troop 2349, completed their Silver Award requirements this year. For those not familiar with it, the Silver Award is the second-highest in Girl Scouting, and among other things, requires to girls to devote hours to a community service project.

For their Silver Award, the girls of Troop 2349 elected to knit warm winter hats for homeless and less-well-off people in Fairfax County. Each girl committed to knitting at least ten hats. Then this spring, the local council held its Precious Metals ceremony at which it recognized all the girls in all the troops who had earned the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. Here is the video of Troop 2349 accepting their award and describing their work.

The girls have now crossed over into being Senior Girl Scouts, and for their Gold Awards, have to come up with new projects. The Gold Award, the highest in Girl Scouting, will require Sarah to come up with a project, develop and plan, obtain resources, and recruit others into helping her. She has a few ideas already...it will be fun to see which she chooses and works on in the next couple of years!

Here's our Silver Awardee, note the new pin next to the blue tab on her vest! Congratulations Sarah!

The Eight-Ball

This past Friday night was the eighth-grade dance, known to all at South County Middle School as the "Eight-Ball," which I always thought was a very clever name for it, having once been an eighth-grade boy at a dance and feeling very, very much behind the eight-ball when it came right down to it.

Here are some pictures of our Sarah and her friends getting ready for the dance.

Our beautiful young lady descending the stairs. Sharp eyes will note the broken finger on the left hand...

Saying goodbye to Fergie, who, on the whole, really wasn't impressed.

Preparing to board her coach for the ball. Note the footwear: in her words, "I'm going to dance, and I'm going to be comfortable." She commented afterward that within 15 minutes, there was a huge pile of heels by the side of the cafeteria, and there she was, still comfy.

Before the ball, one of Sarah's friends hosted a pre-party for everyone; there were over 20 kids there getting ready for the night.

Sarah and a few of her closest friends before the ball.

The ladies of SCMS eighth grade before the ball.

I'd like to report that she had a beautiful time at the ball, but she and her friends lasted all of an hour there before returning to the house of the pre-party. Reports are that the dance was in the cafeteria, with the full lights up brightly, and the DJ playing goofy music like the "Dora the Explorer" theme and the Chicken Dance. Not at all what a sophisticated group of young ladies wished to have for their evening. And as there were no sightings of any princes along with my princess, well, I'm fine with that too. But somehow I don't think this will be the last set of pictures like this in the next four years, as our young lady continues to grow and blossom.

Driving Lessons in Snow

The snow started coming around 1:45 in the afternoon on President's Day, a few hours earlier than forecast, which augured for a heavy storm to begin. By evening, there was a good inch-and-a-half to two inches of very powdery snow outside, which (I thought) was the perfect chance to let David learn a little about driving in the snow.

We spent an hour in it, mostly between a church parking lot and the high school's parking lot. Some takeaways from our playtime:

• It's a lot harder today to make a car skid than it was when I was learning, when we didn't have ABS and TRAC systems and multiple redundancies and so forth. The Mom-Mobile will only let you turn off so much.
• Plus, fresh tires this fall, and dry, powdery snow (instead of slick wet stuff) doesn't help.
• Despite that, we did get to give him a few experiences. He fishtailed a bit in each parking lot, seeing how the van tried to slide away from him. He also got to feel the shuddering of the ABS system multiple times.
• We went through a fun little slalom at the high school parking lot, and he got to experience how much l-o-n-g-e-r it takes to stop when sliding on the snow.
• He's such a careful driver at this point, it makes me proud. He resolutely kept well below the speed limits on Silverbrook, in an abundance of caution in the new conditions. He didn't really go wild in the parking lots, either--no actual donuts--but still had the chance to see what the various conditions could be like.

Merry Christmas 2014!

Instead of making copies of our Christmas letter this year and mailing them all, or creating a new site to capture the year, we're listing here some of the highlights so you can get caught up, and dive in more where you like, to learn more about our year.

courtesy Glenn Cook Photography

Our year involved tearing out the master bathroom for a major renovation, but six weeks later it looked better than we had imagined it could. Up next: the kitchen? The kids' bathroom? Our annual ski trip with the Scouts to Canaan Valley was in February, and then in August we flew out West, the kids' first visit someplace west of West Virginia, for a very full experience of Nevada, California and a little of Oregon. We also had a nice weekend in a cabin at Deep Creek Lake in October with our Fergie, who passed a set of milestones this year. Not only was it her first "puppiversary," or a year after we got her, but in June came the time when (we estimate) she had spent more of her life with us than before--I guess that means she's found her Forever Home. She turned three in October, and kept wryly amusing us with her antics throughout the year. Our puppums is a happy doggie and has attached herself quite firmly to Mary lately.

If you look up the address for South County Middle School in the Fairfax County tax records, you will see that yes, in fact, Sarah *does* own the school. She's having a wonderful time as an eighth grader in Advanced Academics, as a Peer Helper at school, playing guitar, doing Girls on Track, and (most recently) being elected the school's Vice President. She rejoined Girl Scouts with her friends, with whom she is surrounded most of her free time. In the summer she had her second mission trip with Jeremiah Project, which she really enjoyed and which has her thinking of going as a counsellor someday.

The theme for the year with David was "adolescence," the one-foot-in-one-foot-out nature of being a high school junior. He earned his driver's permit this year, and is making slow progress in learning to drive--it's just not a huge priority for him to do, which baffles his parents. His burgeoning leadership was recognized in the winter when his Scout troop elected him its Senior Patrol Leader, and he took the first  (quite halting) steps into the world of girls and dating. But by far, his biggest adventures were a weeklong mission trip to Costa Rica in the summer, and beginning the great college hunt--with visits to William and Mary (two stories to tell there), Berkeley, U of Arizona, and his current #1 choice, Arizona State. Where will he end up? Tune in next year!

Mary celebrated her tenth anniversary with American Bankruptcy Institute this year, and accompanied Sarah on her Girl Scout troop's visit to New York City in the fall. Eric remains in Finance Division at the FBI, although at the end of the year is beginning a six-month rotation to work temporarily in Procurement instead of Budget, a new adventure. In the summer, he had a much-appreciated chance to spend a week at Harvard Business School, and is pursuing continuing ed into the new year. He's also still drumming, with Refresh at Sydenstricker UMC as well as with LifeSign at Burke UMC, loving every minute. This year he also began serving as the Chaplain of Boy Scout Troop 688, and will have a chance next summer to take a long walk in the desert with David--they both will be part of a dozen-strong crew hiking Philmont.

As 2014 fades, we hope it's been a good year for you and your family, and we pray for the light of the season to guide you throughout the new year. Join us here throughout 2015 for more of our adventures, and be sure to share your own--and stay in touch! We very much enjoyed the visits we had this year from Courtney, Naomi, Monica, Mom & Dad Tarrier, and many others…come back again!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2015 from us all!

The Next Adventure: Driving

As I've said before, the theme of this year is "adolescence," and one of the most significant adolescent rites of passage is learning to drive. We've now begun that phase of life, with David passing his learner's permit test last week, so there is now a new driver in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I took him by on Tuesday in the early afternoon, and the Lorton DMV station was practically empty. He was immediately called up to the window, and began the initial processing, including the charming DMV photo. After a brief wait, he was called up to go on in to the computer testing lab, and my waiting began.

There was another boy there, who was called into the testing room moments after David. The minutes ticked by, and I have to confess, I didn't look to see how long it was--maybe five minutes? But it felt much longer. Then the other boy emerged, beaming--but not David, not yet. He took a little while longer, then I saw him come out, trying to motion me over as cooly and nonchalantly as possible, but I knew, just knew, that he had passed it--he couldn't hold it in, he was so happy.

I told him how proud I was of him, and after collecting the final paperwork, headed out. He refused to take a celebratory photo outside the DMV, naturally. We then headed home.

Entering our neighborhood, I drove up about a block and a half, so we would be pretty much alone, and pulled to the curb. "Switch with me," I said, and he did, to drive the last block and a half home. He learned in a hurry that it doesn't take a lot of pressure on the accelerator to make a car go, nor does it take a lot of pressure on the brake to make it stop. But he stopped at the stop sign well, and he drove right down the center of the street, making doubly sure he wouldn't hit anything. We turned onto our street, and he spotted neighbor Mark's car parked on the street next to our driveway.

"I'm gonna hit him," he said, and instead from an abundance of caution came to a stop at the entrance to the cul-de-sac proper. I told him he needed just to turn into the driveway, but he took the long way around the cul-de-sac, avoiding hitting anything except the brake pedal in the driveway, leaving two very short skid marks on the blacktop.

Our first chance to drive, and I liked what I saw: he brought a very healthy about of fear to it. There was no bravado, instead just a very, very cautious approach to piloting a car for the first time. He wanted me, when I bragged about it on social media, to use #beafraid or #beveryafraid to describe the fact that he was now on the road. But y'know, I won't. We have a lot to do over the next 45 hours of driving together, but if he can keep that healthy respect for what he's embarked upon, then I think people won't have anything to be afraid about when he's behind the wheel. If anything, the fear I have is more the fear of the idiots out there driving in NoVA who pose the greater risk to him. And so as I posted on Facebook, "To my son, I am very proud of you, and I look forward to this new adventure. To all the yutzes driving badly in NoVA, I love my boy, and if you hurt him I shall hurt you. That is all."

Off To A Solid Start

Congratulations to Sarah, who finished seventh grade with a great, strong kick: for her first time ever, her quarter report card was "straight As"!  (Her previous close call was Q3 of fifth grade; the only "B" then was in music.  Music!  Come ON!)

After a rocky start to the year in Algebra I and science, Sarah really buckled down and worked tremendously hard in order to improve her grades, and her hard work was justly rewarded with her first set of straight As this quarter.  In fact, only a "B+" in science kept her from straight As in final year-end grades as well.

Sarah with her Q3 Honor Roll certificate: a proud, accomplished scholar!

Sarah has really blossomed this year; seventh grade was a great experience for her.  And scarily enough, her A- final grade, and Pass Advanced on her SOL, in Algebra I Honors means she starts 8th grade with one of her requirements for high school graduation already neatly in the bag, and (with the bump for taking an honors class) she starts 8th grade with a 4.2 GPA…yes, higher than Dad's, although Dad will quickly point out South Burlington didn't offer bonus points for honors or AP classes.

This…is an amazing Sarah.  She works so very hard at schoolwork, and is reaping the benefits now.  She'll be able to write her own ticket to so many great adventures as a result, and it'll be a pleasure watching to see where those adventures take her.  For now, though, we give her warm congratulations, and hugs from a proud Mom and Dad, on her excellent 7th grade year.

Stepping Out, First Onto A Limb...

This Saturday, one of my children took a first, and big, step into the world of dating.  To avoid embarrassment, I won't name him, apart from saying he is an "avid" fan of the Patriots' "D."

But seriously: he had come to know this young lady through the youth group at church, and over the last few months had developed a pretty serious texting relationship.  (Fortunately texting is on the unlimited plan for us.)  They're both sophomores, although attending two different high schools; his South County green and blue clashes a bit with her West Springfield orange and blue.  But they're both in youth group and church, they both are active behind the scenes in their respective drama departments, and I would have to be even denser than I already am to miss how they look at each other sometimes.

This weekend, though, he made a big step, one reportedly required in her family, and asked her father for permission to date his oldest daughter.  Mind you, that entailed asking a Fairfax County Deputy Sheriff--and a very healthy and fit one at that, think Mr Clean with a weapon--in public, outside church, with any number of witnesses to a potential embarrassment.  Fortunately, however, her dad was quick to offer his approval; having known David now several years and figuring someone from youth group can't be all bad, I suppose.  His bravery earned him a handshake from dad, and a hug from the daughter.  And now we begin thinking of movies or events, and saving up our (non-Costa-Rica-mission-trip-spending-money) cash for a new set of activities in our world.

I had begun this year saying how the theme for the year seems to be adolescence; I smile a little thinking how one more bit of adolescence is coming to pass.  And so let a whole 'nother set of games begin….

Senior Patrol Leader

When I was in Boy Scouts, back when dinosaurs roamed the savannah plains, I was awkward, not beloved, and so never even got elected to Patrol Leader; I remember being upset at not being named an Assistant Patrol Leader even.  The Senior Patrol Leader, the SPL, the chief Scout--that, I knew, was never to be me.  More likely John Hagen or one of the other really good Scouts.  I'm sure that fed into my decision to step out of Scouting as a freshman, having made only First Class.

Last Monday, when picking up David (the Life Scout) from his Troop meeting, he announced he'd thrown his name into contention to be SPL for his Troop at their elections.  He was one of four candidates, including his best-friend John; the top vote getter this week would be SPL, and the #s 2 and 3 would be Assistant SPLs; the fourth-place finisher was out of a job.  I remember being a little cautious: after all, his attendance over the fall hadn't been stellar, would folks want to elect him if his commitment wasn't there?

This week, he climbed into the car and said he had one of the jobs, but didn't know which yet.  They announced one boy had lost, but since the Scoutmaster himself wasn't there, they were going to let Mr Sciacca announce the name when he returned.  I was relieved; at least he wasn't fourth.  On the strength of that alone, we got Dairy Queen for the family on the way home, to celebrate.

Tuesday morning came the e-mail from Mr Sciacca: David had won.  He will be responsible for leading his Troop of 90-some Scouts, including welcoming this year's crop of Brownseas as the new boys rise from Cub Scouts in the later winter.  His pride was palpable last night.  When I came home, he came upstairs without being called, to show me the message from Mr Sciacca.  We hugged and I told him how happy I was and proud I was.

He immediately started settling into his new role.  Mr Sciacca said there were two boys who needed staff jobs; David jumped right in and gave them each a call to offer them the job.  He's started thinking of meetings he can have, and activities to do, and how he wants to go to each of the Cub Scout crossing-over ceremonies to welcome his new Scouts personally.  If he can keep up this level of commitment, I think he'll do a great job.

I'm beginning to see a theme for the year--the meaning of adolescence, the one-foot-in-one-foot-out aspect of this stage of life.  Here he is, honored and elected and chosen by his Troop as the one they want to see him as a leader for the next six months; here I am awash in pride for what he's been able to earn, in terms of respect and trust, over the past nearly five years in the Troop.  And in the next minute, as we try to salvage the wreckage of homework and prepare for the Geometry midterm today (oy…), we see the, um, still-developing nature of his maturity.  I suppose I had my own similar stage.  I suppose his sister will have hers, in her own unique way.

Today, though, is all about David and the honor he's achieved.  This coming Monday he goes to a merit badge day to earn two more of the last badges he needs for Eagle; at the winter court of honor he could earn as many as four of them, leaving only two to go (one of which he's in the middle of).  This could be a truly great year for him; I hope and pray the one-foot-in nature prevails.

Learning to Drive: Making the Leap

The process by which David will begin to join the 210 million licensed drivers in the United States began this Wednesday night, an evening that was almost a perfect illustration of the concept of "adolescence."

Virginia mandates that parents and their teens must attend a 90-minute briefing before the teen can be licensed.  The doors to the auditorium locked promptly at 7, and for the next 90 minutes the hair-raising ride began.  David's PE teachers double as the driver's ed teachers, and they alternated with a FCPD officer in providing lectures and videos about driver's ed.  Some of it was helpful, like how the licensure process works in the Commonwealth.  Some of it was scary, such as the statistics about accident rates among male drivers aged 18-19.  And some of it was absolutely heart-rending, such as the video about texting and driving, which related three stories of lives cut down or torn apart.  

I have always had a nightmare in which we open our front door to find a FCPD officer standing there to bring our world crashing down.  I now have to face that over the next few months we will be equipping David to deal with the lunacy of traffic and driving in NoVA, and pray we will do well enough to keep that wolf from our door.  More than once in the evening I felt guilt, over not being an ideal role model for him to copy from; and wistfulness, as the boy whose birth I remember as being just a couple of days ago is now shaving and getting ready to pilot a two-ton vehicle at highway speeds.

It's hard to say what his reaction was to the night: he didn't betray much at the videos.  He hasn't seemed in a rush to study his driver's manual, or indeed to get started on this process.  But in his own way--trying desperately to hide it beneath that teen boy mask of cool--I sensed anticipation, anxiousness to get started, and yes, a respectable amount of intimidation at the prospect of what he's about to undertake and how incredibly bad things can break if they go wrong.  If I read him right, then, I think that's a pretty constructive place to start.

An evening that began with one foot cautiously edging into deeply adult waters--conversations and videos all about responsibilities and consequences--changed when we got home and David wanted to power-down before heading to bed.  His vehicle for doing so? Old reruns of The Kids Next Door.  How very much like a teen: one moment on the verge of adulthood, the next, retreating into the familiar warm confines of childhood.  I had to smile.  We'll have our challenges, getting ready for the next few months and the driving tests still ahead.  But he's still my little boy after all, for one more night.