<h3>By Lee Scott</h3>
It is that time of year again. Those innocent little girls, dressed in cute green outfits with their badge adorned sashes come calling. You open the door knowing that your latest diet is soon to be sabotaged as they hand over the order form and ask, “How many?” Yes, it is Girl Scout Cookie time again! Each year, as I look over the form, I am amazed at how much the form has grown since I went out peddling Girl Scout Cookies as a young girl. Yes, you can still find the traditional cookies - Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patty/Tagalongs, Shortbread/Trefoils and of course the Do-Si-Dos. But now there are so many more varieties to entice you. Of course, my response to her is the same as it is every year. “Ten boxes please.” Yes, there have been some years where I have resisted the urge to buy Girl Scout Cookies knowing I could go to the grocery store and buy similar cookies for less cost. But for some reason, these cookies taste better.

The cookie sale is an annual fund raising activity for the Girl Scouts of America; an organization which I proudly wore my green beret. There was a time I walked my neighborhood going from house to house with my own cookie order form. I knew the people that would support me. They did not buy just one box; they bought ten supporting me in this activity and also enjoying the cookies. Now though, it is just me, the big guy and two dogs in my house. We really do not need these cookies. Yet I find myself checking off the ten boxes of my favorite brands somehow paying forward to all those people who bought from me in the past. I try to hide a few boxes in the freezer right away, but somehow the first box of Thin Mints disappears in 24 hours.

Nowadays, you will also find these Girl Scouts outside the local hardware and grocery stores with boxes of cookies ready for you to purchase immediately. Besides fund raising, they sell cookies for another reason. According to the Girl Scout official page they are learning five skills; goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. So go ahead and buy some cookies and support this local organization and don’t forget to enjoy your Thin Mints!