Pinewood Derby

I think everyone in the family was excited for Asher's first Pinewood Derby. Asher and I worked on his car, Ella and Marley kept up the encouragement about how fast it would be, and Stefanie tempered his expectations so he wouldn't ride the emotional roller coaster that ends with the crash of not coming in first. That last may not sound "excited," but it was the kindest thing any of us did for him. Stefanie held cautious excitement.
In case you are unfamiliar, the Pinewood Derby is a longstanding Cub Scouts tradition. Boys and their parents spend anywhere from a day to months building a car from a simple block of wood. However, the regulations are extensive. It can't weight too much, must fit within specified dimensions, use stock wheels and axles, stock lubricant, no liquid weights, etc, etc, etc. As the rules imply, this "friendly competition" can get sticky. It is said the competition is often about the dads as much as the kids.
The rules stated, "This is a boy event, the scout should do most of the work on their car." So Asher designed his car, and I cut out the shape for him. Then I gave him the sandpaper and taught him how to do it. But Asher painted his car a gold color, and we were ready to go.
When we got there, we saw what this was really about. Most of the cars had polished lacquer finishes with weights embedded inside the car. I was hoping we wouldn't get sideways looks for helping with the cutting, but I quit worrying once we saw the other cars.
I can only say that if the boys did most of the work, Sonoma is chock full of pre-adolescent Bob Villa's. You could see your reflection on the lacquered finishes. The winning cars had weights embedded inside the body and covered over with bondo. Amazing work especially if they were done by 8, 9, and 10 year olds.
So we were there for hours, but the kids made the most of it. Marley was very supportive of Asher, cheering him on and staying close. We were disappointed the kids never got to load their cars on the track or get them at the finish. Adults ran the whole thing and had police tape up to keep the kids back. It was dreadful boring. The bright spot is the 2 minutes when Asher's car actually raced. One mother in bounced up and down when her son's car won. I heard her say to her friend, "My car won! I was up until 4 am finishing that thing!" I think I was just amazed at how quickly people lose perspective. It was supposed to be about the kids. But Asher's car didn't do so well, because he did most of the work on his own. If he decides to do it again next year, he will be at a disadvantage if he does it on his own. Hopefully next year, we will decide that win or lose, it is better to accomplish it on your own.