What I have learned watching my son as he earns the Eagle Rank in Boy Scouts

     As we see our 17 year old rounding the last bin of his journey to getting his Eagle Scout Rank in Boy Scouts, we have seen him grow from a little boy to a young man.  As a young man earns his Eagle he learns many things along the way.  He first needs to learn what it means to be a scout.  He is asked to start living out the scout law oath, motto, slogan and the outdoor code.

The Law

A Scout is:

Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.

The Oath

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

The Motto

Be Prepared!

The Slogan

Do a Good Turn Daily!

The Outdoor Code

As an American, I will do my best to -
Be clean in my outdoor manners
Be careful with fire
Be considerate in the outdoors, and
Be conservation minded.

     As a young man earns merit badges he learns many life long skills.  As he plans his Eagle project and puts that plan into action he learns leadership skills.  He is required to hold leadership positons in his troop along the way as well.

     I am so impressed with my son. Not many young men earn the eagle scout award.  He is now only waiting for his board of review to be scheduled,  Even though he is cutting it close and at times he wanted to give up he did not give up.  I know that he will one day look back over his time in scouting with fond memories and be glad he stuck it out.

     As his mom I have learned not to do the things he need to do but to encourage him to do them.  I have had to let him fail at times and learn to get back up and start again.  That is hard for a mom to do, but as he has grown on this adventure I have too.