Girl Scout Badges

And with that, cookie season is over.  Thank goodness!  When we first loaded all of those cases into the car, my mind went a little numb with the thought of trying to sell that many.  I was determined NOT to sell for her, which means not tapping my email list for online sales, taking cases to work, etc.  Her sales efforts ranged from enthusiastic to miserable, but she managed to sell them all.

Mixed feelings, obviously, about this endeavor.  There's no pretending they are a good bargain or particularly tasty.  Certainly not healthy. Very few of the profits go to the troop itself and those that do CAN be of benefit to the kids' development, but can also go toward frivolous pursuits.

BUT.  That said, she's in a lovely troop, everyone is super nice, she enjoys their activities, they tackle some legitimately worthwhile badges (learning about marine mammals and finance and woodworking, to name a few) and the leaders put a TON of energy into everything, so all of that deserves our support.  Plus, the leaders are truly kind, lovely people.  And, no matter the fact that the cookies aren't a good bargain or healthy, there's brand awareness and people seem to eat them out of some sense of nostalgia. There's a business lesson in that.  At the end of the day, I'm just happy that she's happy, that she enjoys her time with friends.

Big sister, on the other hand, is sure that she's given up her principles by joining a single-gender organization.  The girl with strong opinions.  Can't imagine where she gets that.  Sigh!  :-)

Here's G getting her 19 (19!) patches and awards.  She does like to throw herself into things wholeheartedly.  One of many things I admire about her...