This is my once-a-month weekend to spend in TN, visiting, hanging out, enjoying time with PI and family. As it turned out, this is also the weekend of a fairly stressful, complicated, long-planned event for the local GSUSA. An annual event to reward, award, recognize the young women who have worked hard, accomplished much. They will be receiving their Silver and Gold Awards at a celebration in their honor on Sunday afternoon. A pretty big event, with lots of decorating and frou-frou to be done, as well as good things to eat when it happens.
As Girl Scout councils across the nation have combined, to be more efficient ,better stewards of both labor and finances, the geography of the areas they cover has expanded. So the Council that encompasses Chattanooga, covers the entire eastern third of Tennessee. This event on Sunday will recognize the girls who are closest to Chattanooga, and there will be two others that will celebrate girls up in the Knoxville and Johnson City parts of the state.
We spent the morning: going to the wholesale floral supplier to pick up fresh flowers, going to the craft store to get needed accessories, pins, ribbon, etc., going to the grocery store for additional bunches of fresh flowers. Then back to the house to assemble eighteen arrangements, most of which will be given to the girls who are receiving Awards. As well as corsages for each of the accomplished girls to wear at the ceremony.
As we were riding around town, gathering up supplies, we were talking about the effort required to complete requirements for these achievements. And agree that the actual award is not the most meaningful part. Sure: recognition is important, and publicly announcing their accomplishments to friends and family is laudable, something to be noticed, congratulated, applauded. But I believe the real value lies in the perseverance. The process of dreaming/brainstorming, actually creating a goal, making a decision about what they want to achieve, and seeing the project through, deliberately doing the work required to completion seems to me to be of more value - something that they decide they want, and put forth the effort to see it through. Plus documenting the process, and submitting the paper work to the council staff for review and approval.
The goal setting, the gumption, and the sense of accomplishment (with lots of pushing, pulling, dragging from moms, I am sure!) This: the proof that they can add one more thing to their busy lives, and focus on it well enough to see it through. Pretty impressive, don't you think?
So there will be corsages, fresh cut flower arrangements (one per girl to take home), cakes to cut and eat, finger foods and punch, goodies to enjoy, families coming together to celebrate with this young women. It really and truly does take a village to turn kids into successful, productive adults. So everyone who has had a part in their lives, all those who show up daily to encourage, love, motivate, discipline deserve these Awards as much as those young women who will be the center of attention on Sunday.
A table full of complete arrangements!
Smaller corsages for girls that have earned their Silver Awards.
Arrangements with tulips for girls that earned their Silver.
Larger arrangements with roses for girls that have earned their Gold Award.
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