I spent Saturday with nearly 400,000 girl scouts.

Those of you who actually know me, know that an intimate afternoon with large crowds, in the hot sun, with unfamiliar songs blaring is not exactly my idea of fun. That’s part of why I live in Vermont, I love the peace and quiet, intimate conversations with a few friends, and summers without humidity.

But my daughter has been a girl scout since about second grade. Now a college sophomore, I’ve watched her grow inside this positive organization into something special. I’ve seen the joy it had brought her and how it’s helped mold her. I’ve seen the relationships that have stayed with her, even after she moved from Virginia to live with me a few years ago. She is one of a tiny group of young women who stuck with it and finished her Gold Award (similar to the more well known Eagle Scout for boy scouts.).

And so, when the Girl Scouts announced they would celebrate their 100^th birthday with a massive celebration on the Mall in Washington, DC, I knew we would be there. We drove down Friday, and Saturday morning early we found ourselves part of a growing mob on the mall.

Actually, mob is the absolute wrong word. Normally, when you gather nearly half a million people someplace, they are either protesting, and there is a sense of anger, or it is a concert, with intoxication in the air.

But this was different. It was a celebration. Hundreds of thousands  young women and girls (and a very few of us Dad’s) decked out in “Rock the Mall” T shirts, girl scout sashes dotted with patches, crazy hats, colorful bandanas, Bags of swaps (small hand made gifts to trade).

Everyone was excited and happy. Everyone we met wanted to know where we were from. All fifty states were represented. Every council in the United States had people there.

There were two stages and people singing – at times unfamiliar songs, at time pop songs, and at times, time-loved girl scout songs that had the entire crowd singing and dancing together.

For us, it was a celebration of history. My daughter’s own history, the history of the thousands of scouts who had traveled so far to be a part of this, and the history of the over three million girl scouts in the nation today. It was a celebration of a group designed to recognize and honor these girls and young women, and help them be and become something special in the world.

You could feel the joy. And let me tell you, the joy of that many joyful people together is a powerful thing. It permiates you. At the end of the day, my mouth was sore from smiling. I can’t remember the last time THAT happened.

Today we’ll drive back up to Vermont. 8 hours down yesterday. 8 hours back today, for 7 hours of celebration and joy.

That’s a bargain.