Scout's Envy

Xavier's Cub Scout uniform came today, and he looks very handsome in it, but won't pose for pictures. Hopefully he will be able to go to Cub Scout's tomorrow, and then I can sneak a shot in.

I ordered his uniform online because I did not have time to go to Roanoke this past weekend. With his uniform we got the Tiger Cub's Handbook (I paid for that, it wasn't free :) and, of course, a Boy Scouts of America catalog (that I did not pay for.)

Xavier picked up the catalog, examined it briefly, then tossed it aside with disgust. "I don't know why they want me to order Boy's Life magazine, Mom," he said with disgust. "It's really boring."

I reassured him that he was looking at a catalog and that Boy's Life was definitely better than that.

Gwen, in the meantime, was reading the Tiger Cub's Handbook. Finally she put it aside with a sigh and said, "Why can't girls be boy scouts? It sounds like a lot of fun. Do you know, Xavier gets to make a scrapbook?" Yeah, nothing says macho like developing your scrapbooking skills.

I replied, "Well, I don't think they get to do everything in that book."

"All the same, it looks like fun. I wish I could be a boy scout."

"Well, you could always join the Girl Scouts," I suggested.

"Naah," she replied. "Too many girls."


This evening Xavier called me into the living room and asked me to help him put a balloon on his balloon pump. "I want to surprise Daddy!" he said with a smile. "I'm going to make a screechy noise with my balloon!"

Knowing Adam as I do, I said, "Aw, Xav, I wouldn't recommend that. He's really not in a very good mood today."

"Why is that?" Xavier asked.

Rather than answer -- because he had to take Xavier to the doctor today because Xav was hacking up a lung -- I kind of dodged the question. Instead, I said, "Do you know, when Daddy and I got married, he was the happy, easy-go-lucky member of the family?"

"No way!" Xavier scoffed as Gwen was walking in to see what Xav was doing.

"No way what?" she asked.

"Daddy used to be the light-hearted, happy one of the two of us," I answered.

Gwen made a skeptical face. "When was that?" she asked.

"Before we had kids," I replied with a smile to let them know I was joking.

I wasn't, really.