You may not know this but there are only two ways to properly retire a flag that's no longer suitable for flying - you can bury it or burn it respectfully, and just a handful of organizations are allowed to retire flags. We had to watch ourselves that we didn't call it a flag burning since that has a different connotation, but I think the boys understood the difference.
They were each given a speaking part so even the younger boys were able to participate in the ceremony. I was really glad the Scoutmaster of the Boy Scouts did it this way. It's a somber ceremony and the younger boys would have been really bored just standing quietly in the cold. We think the Scoutmaster is really nice, but we're a little biased...she's the wife of Hank's cross country coach.
Waiting for the ceremony to begin
Getting ready to retire the first American flag of the evening
For some reason Ella wanted to come along. She must have overheard me tell Hank there would be cookies and hot cocoa afterwards.
The boys each walked up to the podium and read their parts. They each did so well, and I was very impressed because we didn't practice this at all with the younger boys.
My big boy reading his part. So cute!!
Inside enjoying some cookies and really hot but yummy hot chocolate
Hank wolfed down a plate full of cookies. He finished cross country practice just a little before the ceremony so he was really hungry.
When we first arrived at cross country last night all the younger runners were at the elementary school for play practice so Hank had to run with the older kids. My strong, speedy guy did a great job though.
Me and two other moms have been running together while the kids practice. Our challenge as it gets darker sooner is to see how far we can run before it gets dark. We managed 4.14 miles at a nice relaxed 11:24 pace. I felt great and my legs felt like they could have gone on for many more miles. I love those kinds of runs.
After cross country we hurried home to change for the flag ceremony. I'm really glad we're doing Cub Scouts; I might have felt like I should shower if we were going to be hanging around with a bunch of girls. I figure most boys don't care how sweaty and stinky people are as long as they can run around and have fun.
It's definitely a busy season of life for us, but we're really enjoying it and are grateful we have these opportunities to do meaningful things that are also a lot of fun.
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