Three weeks ago, my mother brought me two small jewelry boxes from home filled with “treasures” from my childhood.  The necklaces, bracelets and pins brought back memories.  There were two ballerinas, one cross, and one butterfly necklace.  Included in the treasures were my Brownie and my Girl Scout pins, still in one piece and working, if a little dull and tarnished. 

That same week, my eight year old daughter told me, “Mommy, I want to be a Brownie.”  It seemed like such a simple request.  After all, there are a few Brownie troops in the school, certainly I could just call around and find a troop for her to join.  After a few calls and conversations, I found out that all the troops were full, except for one that was disbanding. Before I knew it, I had agreed to be a co-leader, the troop was reforming and adding a few girls.

My initial reason for agreeing to co-lead was to make my daughter happy: she wants to be in Brownies; this is what it takes.  Soon, I discovered that this would be a learning journey for me as well.  After registration forms were filled out, the next step was purchasing a uniform for her and books for both of us.  Once everything was home, I began to go through the material, refreshing my knowledge of Brownies and Girl Scouts (it has been quite a while since I was one).  The more I read, the more excited I became about the adventure that we were about to begin. 

The mission of Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence and character to make the world a better place.  Attending the service unit meeting with dozens of other troop leaders, I realized how many women in our local community were involved in the same mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character.  

Our troop began the year with an induction ceremony for the new Brownies during which they held lit candles while reciting the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law.

The Girl Scout Promise

On my honor, I will try:
     To serve God and my country,
     To help people at all times,
     And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The Girl Scout Law

I will do my best to be
     honest and fair,
     friendly and helpful,
     considerate and caring,
     courageous and strong, and
     responsible for what I say and do,
and to
     respect myself and others,
     respect authority,
     use resources wisely,
     make the world a better place, and
     be a sister to every Girl Scout.

The Promise and Law create a high expectation of behavior, but, knowing that perfection is an unattainable goal, start with words that underscore the fact that we will fail on occasion. The promise states, “On my honor, I will try,” and the law begins, “I will do my best to be...” Continued...