As a Girl Scout troop leader, cookie season is that time of year you love it and hate it. Never in my life have I experienced such a range of emotions.
Phase #1: Excited
This is the moment you realize cookie season is fast approaching. It is the moment that you get your girls all pumped up. You run though customer service drills, you give them the low-down on safety, you work as a group on what to do with troop funds and so forth.
Phase #2: Encouraged
This is the moment when all your girls turn in their initial order forms and you realize everyone did a GREAT job selling to family, friends and neighbors. This is the "boy we are really on track to have a great sale," moment.
Phase #3: Oh Crap, Do We Have Enough Cars To Get All These Cookies?!
This usually happens the night before pick-up aka Cookie Depot. Despite all the planning and space calculations, you really begin to wonder if your four leader/parent vehicles is enough for all the troop cookies. Second guessing yourself at the last minute...never a good idea!
Phase #4: Why Did We Have To Sell This Many Cookies?!
This is the moment when all the Girl Scout cookies are unloaded into my house and ready for sorting. This is also the moment that there is a very small path throughout my entire home!
Phase #5: We Did It!
This is the moment when you love your co-leader, volunteers and parents who show-up the night of delivery to pick-up their order. It is also the moment that you can walk through your house without bumping into cookie boxes.
Phase #6: Proud
This is the moment you watch your daughter and her Girl Scout friends kicking butt with booth sales. They do an awesome job at handling the sale. Our customers are usually great about the extra minute or two it takes for them to tally up their total and make change.
Phase #7: I Want My Life Back
This is moment when you realize, I have spent no less than three days a week hosting booth sales for the last three weeks. My life has revolved around nothing but Girl Scout cookies! And we still have a couple more weeks left to go...I want my life back and this is usually the time I'm saying "I hope that I never have to see another Girl Scout cookie again!"
Phase #8: In Tears
This is the moment when you realize cookie sales end in a week and you still have 100 boxes of cookies left to sell. Of course, you begin to panic...I don't want to be responsible for these cookies.
Phase #9: Proud Again
This is the moment when you realized you were panicking and in tears for nothing because your remaining booth team rocked it and sold all the cookies. Knock on wood...I probably just jinxed myself this year.
Phase #10: We Did It And We'll Do It Again Next Year
This is the moment when cookie sales are finished and you realized "my troop did AMAZING." Despite the wide range of emotions, you are totally proud of yourself, your daughter, your co-leader, your entire troop and all parents. This the moment that you realize, despite all the complaining I love Girl Scout cookie season and I'll enjoy it every year that I am a troop leader.
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