Dozens Of Smiles!

Today was the Pack 4 Riverside Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby.  The basement at St. Brendan's was full of excited boys, parents, grandparents, friends and more.  It was also full of smiles -  Dozens Of Smiles!  There was some moments (and smiles!) in which I will forever remember:

Every time Kyle's car got called up to race all of the Scouts cheered "Kyle, Kyle, Kyle!!!" and at one point he looked at me and said "Mom!  Do you hear that?  Do you hear the crowd chanting for me??" and then when he won the trophy for "Most Original" car he jumped up so high with excitement that I was amazed he didn't touch the ceiling!

Theodore Leland.  Earlier this week Theodore's Mom passed away - very unexpectedly - from complications due to a blood clot.  In an effort to keep things as "normal" as possible for little Theodore, his father decided to take him to the Derby today.   They had worked on his car together and were looking forward to the races.  When we announced Theodore's name as the winner of the "Do Your Best" trophy his face - along with the faces of his Dad, Grandmother and Uncle! - lit up as bright as the sun itself.  It took every ounce of effort I had in me not to burst into tears.  To know that we brought a smile to all of their faces - especially Theodore's - was overwhelming for me given their situation.  In a blink of an eye their entire worlds have been turned upside down; a husband lost his wife, siblings lost their sister, relatives lost their loved one, a young boy lost his mother.  But in that moment, just that one moment, they felt complete happiness and I wished with all my heart that I could capture it all in a big container and hand it to them..because I know how badly they will need it over the next few days, weeks, months, years.

Another trophy we gave out was called the "Cubmaster's Choice Award" which went to a sweet boy by the name of James Davey.  James has been a Cub Scout since he was in Kindergarten and will be "crossing over" to the Boy Scouts next month.  In all of his years as a Cub Scout he had never won anything at the Pinewood Derby's so when we decided to give out this trophy we knew that it would be going to him.  Shortly after we made this decision (without James knowing, of course), James came to me and said that he wasn't sure if he was going to participate this year.  He wouldn't give me a reason, but I'm assuming it's because he was feeling frustrated over never having won anything in the past.  Fortunately for me I was pretty confident that I could talk him into making a car.  I zeroed in on the one thing I know he loves - Minecraft.  Within seconds I had convinced him to make a "Minecraft" car and when he showed up at the race today he excitedly showed me his creation.  It warmed my heart to see him so excited and when Randy (the Pack Cubmaster) presented him with the trophy his grin spread from ear to ear.  He was genuinely shocked that he had won an award and his smile lit up the whole room!

And then there was Arcangelo - an energetic, adorable little boy who has one of the greatest personalities ever.  At our Pinewood Derby last year we had tons of goodies for the kids to eat: hot dogs, pizza, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, candy - you name it, we had it.  What we didn't have, however, were any "healthy" foods.  Arcangelo pointed this out to me and then said "All I really want is a banana"..  hahaha!!  He is a kid that has been blessed with one of those infectious smiles - even if you don't feel like it, when you see him smiling you can't help but do it yourself!  I can't remember which trophy he won today..but the surprised look on his face was immediately followed by such excitement that I thought he might burst right out of his skin.  His eyes were as huge as his smile when he grabbed hold of his trophy - and I'm pretty sure every person in that room feel the energy and excitement that all but radiated off of his body!  It was pretty awesome!

Hosting such a big event is always stressful - so much planning as to go into making sure that everything runs smoothly.  And as usual, it was a busy day for all of us volunteers - me, Jim, Mike, Sheila, Randy, Ray, April, John, Colleen and everyone else who helped out - but when you witness moments like the ones I mentioned above (in addition to SO many more) it makes it all worth the effort.   To see all those smiles and feel all that happiness is so fantastic!