To be or not to be.....

an Earth Scout. That is the question. After 2 years of organizing the 1st and only chapter of the newly formed Earth Scouts organization in AZ, and enjoying the wonders of environmental education, my kids spilled their beans last night that they don't want to be Earth Scouts anymore. The night before our Fall planning meeting. : )

Well, Nevan doesn't. Silvio is still sitting on the proverbial fence. Ahhh.....well, considering I am the owner of the group and ES parent facilitator, I feel responsible for at least helping the group get organized enough for this fall that it won't matter if we don't participate this year. Part of me is feeling bummed that they don't want to participate. Another part of me is wondering why I have not been able to spark their passion for earth stewardship. The other part of me is feeling relieved...we'll have one less thing to do. Another part of me is saying, hey wait a minute, env. ed. is so important, we need to keep at it. Then another part reminds me that it is equally important that we spend our family time on things that float their boat right now. So, if they don't want to be an earth scout, they don't want to be an earth scout. We offered them Boy Scouts too, but that was turned down. Uniforms, you know.
Not participating in ES doesn't mean that we won't be learning about the environment and learning about the world around us and taking care of the earth. It just means they don't want to do that WITHIN the realm of scouting. It's all good. Small steps. Can I hope and dream that my kids will turn out to be tree hugging, animal loving, earth centered sprites.....who love baseball?