DD#154 Very Blessed

Recently I heard a audio clip of Michelle Obama as she talked about military families and wanting to bring attention to what we go through. She said that a study found that eighty percent of military families do not feel as though the civilian community understands what they go through or supports them. I am definitely not in that eighty percent in our current duty location. At the farewell for some of the senior spouses a few nights ago, all four of the women being farewelled talked about the high level of support we get from our community, both Junction City and Manhattan. They are completely right. I have more civilian friends here than I have had anywhere else we've lived and they are often the first to offer help when I need it.

Part of this comes from living here for almost 3 years and being involved in many activities off post, but it is also because this is one of the few communities that doesn't have an "us" and "them" mindset. They take us in and make us feel at home. Most communities don't do this because we only stay for a few years or less and we move on, but here in the Flint Hills they welcome us with open arms.

I have really felt this over the last couple of days after having a wisdom tooth out. I had several people offer to help the day of the procedure and many, many more make sure I knew I could call them if I needed anything. I had two different people bring me dinner on the same day. They have stocked me up with soup and food for the kids and just generally checked on me to make sure all was okay. I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for these wonderful women. The Lord has definitely blessed me with good friends and a great community.

The problem with this...this will be the hardest good-bye I've ever said. This is home and not just a temporary stop. They are going to drag me kicking and screaming from Fort Riley! It really is one of the best kept secrets in the Army!

DD#78 Girl Scouts

When my oldest daughter was in Kindergarten and we heard there were Girl Scout troops on post for her age I was excited and couldn't wait to get her registered. It brought back memories from when I joined my first troop in 3rd grade as a Brownie. I only stayed in for 3 or 4  years I think. Really its all a blur. I remember going to Day camp as a Brownie and then resident camp a couple years later. By the time I was in 6th grade though, I started to get annoyed with the other girls in the troop because because they were afraid of bugs and I never got any sleep when we went camping! I don't remember much about our troop meetings. I'm assuming we had fun, but maybe not...then the dreaded 6th grade year came and I dropped like a fly. As a leader I now realize how typical this is. Actually I don't remember why I quite. Its possible that the troop disbanded and we never looked for a new one.

Now as a parent, I love Girl Scouts with a passion. What other organization is teaching our girls right from wrong, leadership, friendship, compassion, and that girls can do anything they want to do? Megan is now in her 7th year as a Girl Scout. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that she was a little Daisy and now she's helping my younger Daisy's! In this house, there isn't a question of IF you want to join Girl Scouts, you just do.

I have been a leader for 4 years now and I have had some wonderful co-leaders. This year between the two troops my co-leader Melissa and I have 33 girls.  A girls experience in Girl Scouting is influenced heavily by several factors...parental involvement, the enthusiasm of the leader, and the attitude of the other girls in the troop. My best troops have been ones where the parents stay and help out when they can. They are prompt in their responses and turn things in on time. Most importantly though...they bring the daughters regularly. Part of the Girl Scout Law states that we will "Be a sister to every Girl Scout." We stress this with the girls and teach them to be accepting of everyone.

An enthusiastic leader though is infectious! She'll get the girls excited and make them want to come back. She will also get the parents excited about what their daughter is doing.  This has always been my goal as a leader...to make the girls excited about what we are doing and make them want to come back. The above picture is of me and some of my older Girl Scouts. I think I was the only leader out on the ice with the girls. 

Now the downside to being a military wife is that we don't get to stick around and watch our troops grow up, although with Facebook I have been able to keep up with some of the parents and see what the girls are doing. We are only here for a few years, so we have to do what we can in the time we have. And then pray that a new leader will show up to take over when we leave. I look forward to being able to stick around and make a lasting impression in a service unit somewhere when Scott retires.