Monday Memory: Our First Ceremony

I'm taking a very short break in my afternoon of ceremony preparation to post this Monday Memory. Six years ago we had our first American Heritage Girls Fall Awards Ceremony. We started our troop in September 2003, so we'd only been a reality for a few months. Caroline and I were terribly nervous. We'd never done an AHG ceremony; in fact, we'd never seen an AHG ceremony! I was sure I'd break down and cry, or the sound system wouldn't work, or we'd sound like big dopes.

But all went beautifully. I do remember getting choked up, as I do every single ceremony still. It's impossible to look out at a sanctuary full of families, including dozens of girls in red, white, and blue, and not get a lump in your throat. Impossible to look at those sweet faces and not see the future.

Now I get choked up looking at this picture of Laurel, who was just barely six when we started. She's 11 now, almost one of the really big girls. Tonight we are getting for our 11th ceremony (we have two each year), so we're much less nervous. Still, our troop is over twice the size it was back in 2003, and we never lose the joy of knowing that what we do makes a difference in the lives of all these young ladies. And in turn, they will make a difference in our world.

That makes all the organization, speech-writing, badge ordering, and paperwork worth it.

Yes, even the paperwork.