Cookies, cookies, cookies...

Ah, yes... it is Girl Scout cookie time. I'm the proud troop leader of a bunch of Brownie Girl Scouts. For those of you who don't know me on a day-to-day, you probably don't know about this new little activity.

Kind of a funny story actually how this all came about... so if you care to know the story, keep reading... if not, well, skim it to the last paragraph and come back tomorrow... :)

Anyhoo... Back in September a note came home from school asking if your daughter would be interested in Girl Scouts. I was never actually a Girl Scout growing up, one of my younger sisters was in Girl Scouts and my mom was an assistant leader, so that's basically all of the experience I had with it. So, I asked the girl if she was interested, she said yes... and there you have it. We went to the place to "register" her for a troop, yada, yada, yada, and on the form was a place for volunteering as an adult to help out the troop- yes, I filled in my info and checked the box too.

My husband and I both believe strongly in being involved with both of our kids. We have done the whole soccer thing, swimming and soon to add softball and football to the mix, so to me this Girl Scout thing wouldn't be any different. As it turns out, I ended up not just being a volunteer, but the actual Troop Leader of a group of 2nd grade girls. Bear in mind, I have basically no experience with Girl Scouts.

At this point, I was kinda freaking out. How was I going to lead a bunch of girls that are looking to me for inspiration in crafts- well, I could definitely do that one, cooking- eh, maybe, camping- um, does camping in a cabin count?? and inspiring them to "make the world a better place?" I hope so... ok. Maybe not so hard after all... right?

So... being the crazy person that I am, I decided that I was going to go full-bore into this Girl Scout stuff- earning badges with the troop as often as possible, participating in events, etc. I had set a goal to make my troop the most amazing troop ever- these girls are going to make an impact. And guess what? They have!! We have so far to date participated in making sock monkeys for Texas wildfire victims through Craft Hope, we have collected cookies to donate to our service members overseas, we are in the process of gathering food and clothing for our local shelters *and* the girls are trying to think of their next service project. These girls are 7 and 8 years old... they are already making a difference *and* know they are too.

Now, what was all of this for? To just let you know, that when you see those cute little Girl Scouts selling cookies in front of the store or at your front door- you are helping them to make a difference too by purchasing a box of cookies. Yeah, I know, a long sales pitch, but really, these girls are trying to "make the world a better place" and cookies are delicious. I think that is a win-win deal to me. :)