The Derby

When Robbie was little, I dreaded him turning eight. Not because it meant that I was getting old (although that's a little too true), but because it meant Cub Scouts. And frankly, Cub Scouts scared me to death. After all, Cub Scouts meant the Pinewood Derby, and wood things are not exactly my forte. Well, Robbie's first Pinewood Derby rolled around last night. Jon and Robbie spent quite a while working on his car. Robbie picked out what he wanted to do, and Jon made it happen. Of course, that means that Jon did the majority of the work while Robbie watched. :-) But Robbie was SO proud of his car.


Jon has never really done this kind of thing, and he really stressed about it. I think he was worried that Robbie's car wouldn't make it down the track or something. But, they did a great job!


Robbie may not have won first place, but it didn't even matter. I was so proud of my son. One of my favorite things about my son is his happy-go-lucky nature. Jon often says that the song "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah" must be constantly playing in Robbie's head. When he played soccer and baseball, it was hard to get him to be competitive, because he is just so laid back. And it made us nuts! But, as I watched Robbie last night, just truly happy to be there and cheering for all his friends, I was so grateful for that character trait. He wasn't upset when his car came in second or third in a race. He just enjoyed the experience.


The cool thing was that it rubbed off on me. Remember how I said I'm competitive? Well, that applies to my kids too. I do try pretty hard to not play the "My kid is better than your kid" game that we as parents sometimes fall into. I don't typically brag about my kids' grades or when they win something. But, that doesn't mean I don't want them to do well. So, I wanted Robbie to win before we started. But as the Pinewood Derby began, I just wanted Robbie to have fun. And when he did, it made me happy. :-)

So, enjoy one last video of the Pinewood Derby. Robbie's car is the black one in the far right lane.