Worth the Effort and the Time

This weekend a young man I know is getting married. He’s a great guy whom I have known and worked closely with for many years.

These days I don’t get to see enough of him but we can usually pick up where we left off pretty easily – he’s a good friend. It seems like only a few months ago he was a twelve-year-old Scout. It was a joy to watch him grow up from the perspective of a Scoutmaster. This weekend I’ll be attending his wedding in my other role; as his father. Like most parents I will wonder how this all happened so fast but I won’t agonize over whether or not I missed out on watching him grow up or whether I was around enough. In the midst of the best and the worst of our time together in Scouting I sometimes wondered if it was all worth the effort, the time, the frustration. In the end would it really matter? If you are sharing Scouting with a son or daughter as one of their adult leaders you will probably ask the same question on occasion.

I can tell you it does matter, it was worth it. It was a small price to pay for having the relationship we have now and for the experiences we shared.