Yep folks, we have participated in our first pinewood derby. Last year they did a raingutter regatta instead so this was our first one. I have mixed feelings about pinewood derby’s. Milo did not win. He also did not make the top 3. He worked hard on his car and Scott lost lots of sleep because of his car, but I feel that we tried to send the right message. We wanted him to feel encouraged and hyped but also tried to help him realize that only 1 kid could win. Apparently we didn’t do such a good job!!
The race was on January 25. All the boys had to turn their cars in the week before. I was on the weigh in committee with 2 other parents. We carefully weighed and labeled each car. Then we put them in the closet till the official race.
There were some pretty cool cars. Milo won a certificate for the best use of Boy Scout colors. Him and his buddies were pumped and ready to be the best car out there. Scott was one of the official judges. It was hard for me to sit back and not be an unofficial judge! But I guess when the race is going and your son is in it, it’s hard not to be a bit biased. I think bishops should be the judges not parents… :o)
Anyway, 2 boys from our ward took third and second. That gave us some bragging rights!
The Sibs!
Like I said I think we did not do a good job preparing Milo for a possible loss. He left the race smiling and confident, but it all went down hill from there. We were as sensitive as we could be at 9pm at night, but maybe I needed to be more sensitive. Because for the next 2 weeks Milo would just start sobbing and when I asked what was wrong, it always went back to the pinewood derby. Or he’d get really mad and when I’d ask him about it he’d confide in me about how mad he was that he lost.
Milo lane one
I finally had to sit him down and come to some kind of a solution to these constant outbreaks. He said that if he could earn more belt loops and get his wolf he’d be happy. Ok, it took 2 weeks but I finally realized the underlying problem. Milo felt like a looser and needed things in his life to make him feel like a winner. Geez, you’d think I’d get this by now!
So he has his wolf badge earned, he’s earned 2 belt loops and a pin. I’m hoping he’ll have at least one more belt loop before the next pack meeting. Plus, since he’s earned his wolf, he now gets all his arrow points (he’s earned like 10!). I’m glad we’ve figured this out and that we have Milo back after almost 3 weeks of misery!!
Pinewood derby…..worth it??
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