Can I say Pinewood Derby?

When Garrett headed into Cub Scouts, I felt I'd entered another world for me to conquer.  After awhile of being in Cub Scouts, he came home with his Pinewood Derby Kit.  Ladd and I exchanged looks, and Ladd guided Garrett into the garage.  Garrett helped Ladd every step of the way.  When the moment came to race against the other scouts, Ladd and I both held our breaths.  Would it be a winner car?  No.  Garrett did well to get fourth, fifth, and sixth places.  Garrett accepted this stoically although I'm sure he was more than disappointed.  My heart ached for him.

Jarom grew up a bit and entered Cub Scouts.  Once again, Ladd guided Jarom into the garage.  Once again, Jarom's car barely got fourth or fifth or sixth.  Jarom hid his disappointment better than Garrett.

James came home with his Pinewood Derby kit a little over a month ago.  I worried that James' car might not even get made.  Ladd keeps strange hours with his night shift schedule, and James is the only child to get home after Ladd leaves for work.  James can go five days without even seeing Ladd.  When were they going to be able to work together to get his car made?!  For awhile, James' kit hid on top of the refrigerator.  Eventually, the car started taking shape, but we were running out of time.  The day of the Pinewood Derby dawned.  Ladd had managed to put the wheels in during the night before he hit the pillow.  James seemed so pleased with how the car had turned out.  My heart started the normal apprehension over the results of the race.  Ladd wasn't able to attend because of his work schedule.  What would I do if something went wrong with the car?!!!  Luckily, James' car functioned properly.  It weighed in at 4.2 lbs.  After a few fifths and sixths, I marched him with his car over to the fix it table and added the last remnants of weights left.  It brought up the weight to 4.5 lbs.  It would have to do.  James was furious I had marred his beautiful car with the weights.  I think he understood the why of what we had done, but he was worried it would never be the same.  The next race brought him in fourth place.  He pulled more of the fourths, fifths, and sixths for the rest of the races.  James seemed resigned to how his car had raced.  But, how my heart ached.  When we got home, James quickly put his restored (he pulled off the weights successfully) car in a box which he dubbed "the garage."  He's proving over-protective about his car.  Come to think about it, Garrett and Jarom still have their cars, too.  Maybe their experience made more an impression on them than I thought it would.  Hopefully, the time they spent learning at their father's side weighs more than the winning. . . .  I must say, though, I'm afraid to ask.