July 2016: Finally, a couple very eventful weeks after my retina tore in the ER, the boys left for St Thomas. For two brothers in our scout troop, it would be the crowning adventure of their time in Boy Scouts. Brandon, the older brother had aged out of the program. Dylan would age out the following year. Both brothers were athletic and aspired to military careers. Brandon, was the less
In June of 2016, Boy Scout camp at Wallwood ended. I had been shuttled to parent night at camp by another scout parent, just before my eye surgery. I sat on a bench talking with Erica, another scout parent, who is visually impaired. She became my guide into the world of the minimally sighted. Honestly, my having a partially sighted friend during my temporary blindness helped me keep perspective. She
The weekend passed without incident. I was bored nearly to tears, except for the abject fear of impending eye surgery. I spent most of Saturday on the first weekend of June 2016, asleep because of my late visit to the hospital. Sunday, I sat around the house, afraid to overexert, as if my sacrificed time could somehow save my travel plans. Barbara drove me to the doctor’s office on Monday
Our last normal summer break, careened from problem to problem. Boy Scouts spend most of the year working on service projects and leadership skills. Summertime brings scout camp, where scouts earn most of their merit badges. A scout needs to earn at least 21 merit badges to reach the rank of Eagle. Eleven of those come from a list of required badges. The remaining badges are elective badges that teach
Avner had missed the opportunity to register for high school classes. We had been adamant about connecting with the high school for a hand-off meeting from middle school, to cover his IEP. Avner was entering high school a year younger than most high schoolers, and had some academic hurdles due to his ADHD and Autism diagnoses. There was this other thing with his behavior, but we expected life to improve