Derby Night is one of my favorite nights. There are many tears of joy and many tears shed from dashed hopes from boys and their dad's. It is one of the happiest and saddest of nights.
Well let's get right down to it, shall we? Super A's car did not do as well as he hoped. We always tell the kids that you can do the car for design or speed, but not for both. (That's always worked in the past, so please don't tell me you can have it both ways and screw-up the thing we tell our kids so they won't feel so bad when they lose.) Super A's design is suburb.
It has a space theme going on. Stars on the top, along with Neptune, comets on the side, and a rocket towards the back. Super A thought it turned out better than he could have hoped. He was quite sure after he saw all of the cars that his would win the design award. It was the coolest car there. (You can judge for yourself, but please keep your opinion to yourself).
The cars this year were fast! Really, really fast. Surprisingly fast.
Super J did not move from this spot the entire night. Sometimes he was sitting, sometimes standing and sometimes laying on his tummy.
It was a good night!
2 comments:
In my several years as a Cubmaster, Pinewood Derby night was always the night I dreaded. First of all, I always knew that my boys (sorry Ben) would have terrible cars because of my lack of skills. Second, there were always so many emotional parents. I was lucky not to be the Cubmaster the night 2 dads got into a fistfight in the Cultural Hall, but there were always too many tears and too much shouting.
My plan was always to create a complex, confusing, but ultimately fair series of races that ensured that 1) every kid had many chances to race his car (that's all they cared about) and 2) no parent was ever quite sure about what was happening. It usually worked out, but I always went home exhausted mentally and physically.
That's too bad. I love the Pinewood Derby. The parents we have now are pretty laid back. We have had some competitive ones in the past who, I think, we all just try to ignore.
Each car raced 14 times. And towards the end it's just fun to watch the kids cheer for one another.
It's a great learning experience for the kids. But then again I'm not in charge, I'm just there to give hugs and high 5's
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