Camp Geronimo in Arizona is an exciting place for Boy Scouts. Preston was so eager to go as a new Tenderfoot, and I tagged along for the week. We had a wonderful time. One of his big anticipations was the Polar Bear swim. It was a three-day morning ritual in which all participants would run down to the pool at 6:00 a.m., jump in at one side, swim across (amidst freezing screams), and jump out the other side. If you do the Polar Bear all three mornings, it earns you a special Polar Bear patch. Preston wanted that patch. So at 6:00 a.m., we trucked on down to the pool, and I watch dutifully by the pool fence with the other dads (caveat: A SUPER amazing dad would do the Polar Bear with his son. I am only an amazing dad). Anyway, I stood by fence for what seemed like an hour, as line after line of scouts jumped into the pool and popped out the other side. Soon it was over. But still no Preston. I went around the front side of the pool entrance, and there is was, teary and distraught. He hadn’t had the nerve to jump in, and now he couldn't earn the patch. That afternoon, he visited with his scoutmaster, who suggested if he did it TWICE the next morning, he could still earn the patch. We mentally prepped the rest of the evening, and Preston was pumped. By morning, out came Preston ready to go. I watched him jump in, swim across, and jump out, just to run around and do it again. And then a THIRD time! He was so proud of himself. He had learned he could do hard things. And just to prove it to himself, he did it TEN times in a row on the third morning!
LESSON LEARNED: We can do hard things in life, and it is amazing when each of us comes to his or her own realization of this.
FEEDBACK: WHAT DIFFICULT TASK DID YOU THINK WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO, BUT THAT YOU WERE SO PROUD OF WHEN YOU FINALLY PULLED IT OFF?
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