Dear Friends and Family and especially my Identical Cousin Tracie! Guess What?! I'm going to be a "Brownie!" If you read my post HERE about when I got to meet the rest of the family, and when my sweet Auntie Peggy gave me this cute little Brownie uniform as a gift, then you will already know why I am wearing this outfit today.
But guess what else? My Mommie used to be a REAL Brownie Scout and a Girl Scout too, when she was a little girl like me! And today she found some special things that she has saved for many, many years (she won't say how many, but it's a LOT!) that prove she was a Brownie and a Girl Scout! If you look at my vest in the picture above, you will see a special pin with the emblem of a Brownie on it, with a little chain attached to another little pin with the number 5 on it. Mommie said that meant she was a Brownie for five years. She said I could pin it on my vest to make me an "official" Brownie!
Then she found this green sash that she had when she was a Girl Scout, and it has all those badges on it that she earned. She thinks there may be a few that are missing because one of my brothers wanted to use them one time to put on a jacket when he was playing like a soldier.
But then guess what else? Mommie found her original Brownie Scout Handbook!
This was given to her by her Mommy, my Grandma Dorothea, way way back when Mommie was a little girl!!
It tells all about what it means to be a Brownie.
The man who named the Brownies was Robert Baden-Powell. He is called the "founder of Scouting".
The book says that he "knew many stories about the brownies or 'little people of old England.' They would come into a house at night and help while the family was asleep. The Founder thought Brownies would be a good name for girls who like to be useful as well as to play."
Mommie said that Brownies learn many helpful and useful things to do both outdoors and inside and at home. They learn about nature, which I already love, and about cooking, which I also love, and about music and dancing, which of course you already know I love music!!
Brownies learn games to play together, and they can read books and put on plays for people to watch, and they can learn to plant things in a garden and learn about animals and how to take care of them. They also learn about health and safety and the right kinds of foods to eat.
Mommie said that when she was a Girl Scout they got to go camping a lot, and also learned how to swim and paddle a canoe! Mommie has a kayak that she paddles on Still Waters Pond, and when the weather is nice enough she says we will go out in the kayak together and paddle around the pond!
Won't that be lots of fun? And we can take pictures of everything we see so I can share them with you!
I can't wait to do that!!!
Mommie said that the Brownies have some special things they say and promise to do. The most important one is called "The Brownie Scout Promise"
It says:
"I promise to do my best to love God and my country, to help other people every day,
especially those at home."
Then there is a special "Brownie Scout Salute", a Greeting Sign, a Handshake, and the Girl Scout motto also applies to Brownies, and it is "Be Prepared".
Mommie says that perhaps some things in the Brownies and Girls Scouts have changed since she was a little girl, but that these are all still good things to learn and do, and they would be fun things for us to do for our little adventures. She said maybe you, Tracie, and your new beautiful friend Amybelle, might want to do some of these things too and we could kind of have our own little "Brownie Troop" here in our blogs. We could share what we do with everyone and maybe we will all learn some good things by doing this. Maybe there are some other friends out there who are reading this who might want to join us in this "adventure", or maybe you can share some special things that you are doing wherever you live that help other people every day.
I like the part that says that we should "love God and our country". Mommie says that it is very important for us to love God first of all, and then we should also love our country and do our part to keep it safe and happy for other people to live in.
And I already love learning about nature and God's beautiful creation all around us. We have been watching the bluebirds come and go from that bluebird house above every day now.
And we are watching the wild plum blossoms on the trees as they change into little baby plums...
And I love to pick "fairy flowers" and make pretty arrangements with them to enjoy in the house.
Mommie said when she was a Girl Scout she learned how to make beautiful flower arrangements and they entered them in the county fair and she won a ribbon on one of her arrangements, but she doesn't remember now what color of ribbon. Blue is for the best (or First Place), Red is for 2nd place, and then there are yellow and white ribbons for 3rd place and honorable mention, or something like that. Wouldn't it be fun to put something on display at the county fair and maybe win a ribbon?
Do you think my little teapot full of fairy flowers and those beautiful Carolina Jessamine might win a ribbon?
I want to be a good helper and learn how to do so many things to help my Mommie and Daddy at our house, and also to be a good friend and neighbor to everyone I meet. Mommie said if I learn to do those things, I will grow up to be a very kind and helpful person, and that will make everyone happy, including God and me!!
I wonder how many of you were ever Brownies or Girl Scouts? Did you have fun doing that? Maybe you can share some of your experiences with us. I am so excited to get to be a special Brownie here and make new friends. Hey, Mommie, may I sell some Girl Scout cookies? Well, Mommie said maybe not yet, but perhaps we will buy some from some Brownies or Girl Scouts if we see them out selling them. Oh! That would be great!!
I hope you have enjoyed this exciting new adventure with me!
Now it is time for little girls to get ready for bed. Mommie says we will post this tomorrow morning when everyone is awake and ready to read again!
So for now I will say Good Night!
God bless you all!
Love,
Lily Grace
Your little "Brownie"
xoxoxoxo
