first Bear Scout den meeting

Tonight's the night.
I am sure the boys will come in like normal. That would be like gang-busters, wild horses, or some other unmanageable group. I have told the parents that a certain part of the room is off-limits. Hopefully, that with a make-shift barricade will help control them some. I have a gathering activity and someone else who will help with the talking. We have a craft and if time permits, some games.
I have two boys who I really struggle with. One, I can usually work with, but I am sure he doesn't like me AT ALL. And he has good reason. He probably thinks I don't like him either, but I do. The other boy is a harder case but I am trying to think positively about him.
We will also pick a denner and an assistant denner. The Denner will be the last denner we had last year, since he really didn't get to do anything. Also, he already has the cord, and if he is late or doesn't come, I don't have to worry about it. I still don't know about how to pick subsequent denners. I like the idea of voting on it, but since we will end up with the last picked, the last-picked-for-the-team feelings are flooding back on me, and I don't want to do that to anyone. Probably pick a number.
Max will earn half of his 4 beads towards Bear rank tonight. While I wish he took more of an initiative on working towards rank, I recognize that he doesn't have to because I do it for him. So I am going to TRY to not push so hard. He always really enjoys it when he is working on stuff. He just doesn't like looking at the book (i.e. reading). We will see. I doubt if I will be handing out any other beads tonight, but I hope I am wrong.