Scout Sunday

The day Matthew has been looking forward to most, second only to Christmas and his birthday, is Scout Sunday. What is Scout Sunday? Never heard of it? Well, neither had I up until Matthew started talking about it and even then I thought it was something he had made up. Basically, it's just a Sunday where all those involved in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or Scout leadership are acknowledged and given a special blessing at Mass. Afterwards, all scouts eat for free at the monthly Knights of Columbus breakfast. Matthew absorbed all this information into his little noggin and concluded that Scout Sunday was simply another day for us to express our complete adulation and worship of him.

Matthew talked about Scout Sunday nonstop for weeks leading up to the glorified day. By the way he was talking, he was setting himself up for some major disappointment.

"Will they give presents to all the scouts on Scout Sunday?"

"I'm going to wear my uniform all day on Scout Sunday and everyone who sees me will say 'Happy Scout Sunday, Matthew!'"

"As soon as I wake up on Scout Sunday, you and Daddy have to tell me Happy Scout Sunday before anything else."

"I get to have a special dessert on Scout Sunday, right Mommy?'

By the time Scout Sunday actually rolled around, Paul and I were incredibly sick of hearing about Scout Sunday and all of Matthew's wild fantasies about it. However, we soon realized that there are some major perks to parents on Scout Sunday as well.

Perk #1

The resident scout was so excited for Scout Sunday that he willingly and happily went to bed without the usual complaints and requests for multiple, long stories. (Such as "Happy Birthday to You!" by Dr. Seuss...never read it? It's horrible.)

Perk #2

The resident scout was so excited for Scout Sunday that upon being awoken by his tired Mommy at 6:00 AM, he put up no fight or requests for extra sleep or complaints about having to head to Mass so early and bounced out of bed and dressed in his uniform.

Perk #3

The resident scout prepares his sisters for the wonders of Scout Sunday by telling them all about the delicious breakfast they will eat if and only if they are well behaved at Mass. Little sisters actually listen to the resident scout and are perfect angels during Mass.

Perk #4

The resident scouts promise for a delicious breakfast are realized and the whole family eats heartily from plates piled high with pancakes, french toast, sausage, and eggs. The children are especially thrilled with the unlimited juice bar.

Perk #5

Parents do not have to clean up the kitchen after Sunday breakfast. Everyone heads home happy and full. The resident scout is in a good mood because he ate approximately three pounds of free sausage.

So, in the end, Scout Sunday proved to be a great day! The whole family returned from church with full bellies and then we al went out for sledding. This was Lucy's first time sledding ever and also our first time bringing Peyton, but both of them (and the rest of us) had a blast. We were the only ones out that day, so we unleashed Peyton and let him run wild, The best part was listening to Lucy giggle as we sped down the hill in our sled. We even took a bad tumble once and both our faces ended up covered in snow, but all Lucy said was: "Uh Oh!" A quick dusting off of her face, and she was ready for another round. That girl definitely earned her mug of hot chocolate.

And since this post has been mostly about our little scout Matthew, I'm also going to share two sheets of paper that came home in his Friday folder. I'm especially curious about how his ambitious and very pious New Year's resolution is going.

So, how did you spend Scout Sunday? Next year, I'm totally making Matthew a button to wear all day that reads: "Have you Hugged a Scout Today?"