Tonight was Alex's last cub scout pack meeting, at least until he has sons of his own. In the last weeks before his birthday, which is also the deadline to earn any more cub awards, he got really busy and finished up a whole list of stuff.

He already had his Aquanaut and Citizen badges, but recently he completed his Readyman, Fitness, Showman, Engineer, Handyman, Outdoorsman, Naturalist, Traveler, Scholar, Geologist, and Family Member badges. He also completed his Webelos badge and earned his compass emblem and one compass point. Finally, in an elaborate ceremony involving trains, robbers, a chief, a tee pee and an electric campfire he was presented with cub scouting's highest honor, his Arrow of Light. I am so proud of him.

Since Alex is my only son, it was the last pack meeting for our entire family too. I may have cause to attend cubs in the future, but it won't be for my own child. No more pinewood derby cars, no more goofy skits, no more funky "round of applause" cheers. I'll miss all that sweet innocence and fun that comes with having a boy in the 8-10 age group. I know there will be a lot of really cool stuff on the road ahead, but I'm feeling a little pang of sadness to say goodbye to this era of his life. My sweet baby boy is growing up. I wouldn't really stop it, even if I could, but it's still a little hard to watch one more childhood milestone move into the past.

It all zooms by so fast.