I want a beanie too

I wish I had been a Girl Scout when I was a kid.

I was born for this stuff. I love the uniform and the fun iron ons. I love the songs and the camping. And I love selling cookies. I'm just the right amount of pushy to get cookies sold. There is a tenacity in my character -- like a shark that can smell blood in the water, I won't give up if I sense money in your wallet. Is that tenacity or just being a pain in the neck? Then if none of that works, I can always rely on my great depth of understanding of Catholic guilt. I used to be only on the receiving end of that but now, as a mother, I can dish it out like a pro.

There wasn't a Girl Scout troop for me at my school when I was little. I suspect that my parents didn't want to deal with the hassle of meetings and what not. Girl Scouts came to St. Joe's just as I was graduating from 8th grade. Now I know that my parents could have very easily found me a troop. Troops don't have to be sponsored by the school. Consider that they let my brother Norman join the Boy Scouts. Totally unfair. I know you feel my pain. It still smarts 25 years after the fact. Dear God, has it really been that long?

So I have to tell you about my great friends Sharon & Steve, who are in second place for best customer. During the presale phase of the cookie selling, Sharon ordered a paltry 6 boxes of cookies. Two of those boxes were the sugar free chocolate chips which no bugger will eat, but Sharon said she wanted to be "good" this year. I delivered the cookies and Steve, seeing that several omissions were made from the order, tasked me to get 6 more various boxes. When I delivered those 6 boxes of cookies, their son N noticed they didn't order any Samoas. I tried to get Steve & Sharon to buy Samoas on the previous days, but they said nobody liked those. N vehemently denied saying he didn't like Samoas. He professed that they were indeed his favorite Girl Scout cookie of all time. While N tried unsuccessfully to get his parents to order a case or 2, they did ultimately order 2 boxes. (I was rooting for N in this fight.) When Sharon left the room, Steve realized that they didn't order Trefoils so that too went on the order. And because son D had decided to give up sugar for Lent, they ordered another box of the sugar free chocolate chip cookies. Poor kid. So all together, they've bought 17 boxes of cookies. I'll let you know if they buy more.

But the best was when Sharon recalled that their friend Joe bought 2 cases of Thin Mints each year. Two cases! And they didn't tell me until now? I immediately called full of hope that Joe didn't already know a pusher, I mean a girl scout, and Joe ordered only 1 case of Thin Mints and 1/2 case of Trefoils. The Trefoils are for the kids. His wife Julie ordered 3 boxes of Samoas -- so they are in the lead with 21 boxes. Those are GREAT customers -- and I'll have them on my speed dial for next year.

At the last Girl Scout meeting, we taught the girls how to blow past a negative answer to the question, "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?" If the customer said that they were on a diet, scouts should talk about the "diet" sugar free cookies. If they were trying to avoid chocolate, scouts should talk up the Trefoils, Do-si-dos and Lemon Chalet Cremes. If they were avoiding trans fat, scouts should talk about how Girl Scout cookies don't have trans fat. If they're avoiding corn syrup, scouts know that only the Samoas have corn syrup in them. The rest are corn syrup free. If they say they've already bought cookies, scouts should remind them that the cookies only come once a year and they freeze really well. Imagine frozen Thin Mints during the hottest months of the year.

And if all that fails, scouts should suggest donating to our Gift of Caring project. What's Gift of Caring? Why, I thought you'd never ask. Girl Scouts can select a Gift of Caring project to elicit donations of boxes of cookies or monies. Our choice this year is Operation Cookie Drop. Our council has a goal of sending 100,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. This endeavor is being supported by a broadcasting group who is donating the shipping. How cool is that? The Gift of Caring is a great way for family and friends who are out of town to participate in our scouts fund raising efforts. (hint hint, nudge nudge)

Princess's troop will be using their cookie funds to pay for camping, their badges for next year, a pottery painting party and a build-a-bear workshop. They've set these as their goals. Ultimately the girls are learning how to build a business, create business relationships with customers, and the importance of good customer service and manners. They gain so much confidence as the process goes along. Go capitalism!

I'm excited for when they are older and can set a goal of camping on a beach somewhere warm during the winter. Tahiti sounds nice.