Arrow of Light

Thursday night we made it to the Blue and Gold Banquet with one of the local Cub Scout Packs.  Our church usually charters a Boy Scout Troop and a Cub Scout Pack, but when we returned from fellowship, there was not an active Cub Scout Pack with our church, so we found this one that a few of the boys from our church were already attending.  It was a great experience.  Good boys in the pack and great leaders for the boys.


J was a bit tired and a little leery about attending.  A potluck banquet started at 6:00, but we opted to eat at home and avoid the crowds for as long as possible to both preserve J's strength and to avoid too many opportunities to catch someone's infection.  I dropped off the cake J helped Mom make and decorate for the cake contest.  He wanted a beach scene.  The whole family arrived just as the meal was ending and the awards were beginning.

We sat in the back corner, which was nice because it was out of the way and secluded from people, but not as nice because every time they called for an award for Jonathan, he had to walk to the front of the room, which was a noticeable challenge for him.  They started with Pinewood Derby awards.  J won in his den and second overall in the pack.  They provide fun trophies.

Eventually it was time to give the Arrow of Light Awards.  The parents and boys were all invited to the front and they had a candle lighting ceremony.  I'm not sure if it was weakness, fatigue, or if this is an effect of the medications he is currently taking, but his hands were very shaky.  To his credit, he pushed forward and participated as he was invited to.  As hard as it was to watch him being so shaky and needing to lean on me for support or finally just needing to sit in a chair, I remember a moment of quick reflection realizing I was really happy for what he was doing.

This is J and the other boy in his den.  Both earned the Arrow of Light award.  Both his parents are den leaders within the pack.  Both are great people I am glad we had the privilege of working with.



To finish the awards ceremony they have the crossing over ceremony, crossing from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.  The pack has a bridge the boys have to build every year, J did not want to be left out of that fun.  The cross pieces are placed individually by the boys and each represents one of the points of the Scout Law with a little explanation of each point.  You can see the points of the scout law written on the boards in the video.  J was received into Boy Scouts by the Assistant Scoutmaster and the Patrol Leader from our church's Boy Scout Troop.

 We had J wear his blue uniform because Mom had finally sewn all his cub scout awards on his shirt for the event (I'm sure she'll approve of me sharing that little tidbit of information:)).

Here they are at the end of their cub scout experience.  And this was about the end of the line for J.  He was ready to go home.

So happy we were able to be out of the hospital for him to attend this event.