boys day out….

A tradition unintentionally evolved in our little family. It started decades ago when our boys were littles and we lived in Athens the first time around. I was outnumbered in our testosterone-filled household and my sense of order and organization was a continual target under attack. My OCD and perfectionistic tendencies were at war with the chaos that the week’s worth of living produced. In a moment of inspiration, my sweet husband declared Saturdays….Boys Day Out. Early in the morning, he would hustle our munchkins out the door to run errands and find adventures for several hours to allow me to return our little kingdom to some semblance of order. They loved it and so did I. Cleaning and organizing was really therapeutic for me, even if I used up most of a day off from regular work to do it. I wanted to see it all clean…. for just a few moments before it started the downward spiral of messiness once more. What began as a huge help for me, turned into a mega Blessing for them! I’ve learned that blessings always work both ways!

These days became a wonderful ritual for the boys. They got hang time with their Dad. They met interesting people during the errands and learned to converse with their elders. They had super fun adventures outside the norm. Daddy was the FUN parent!! On their first stop, they developed a life long love of Waffle House during those breakfast feasts feeding two hungry little boys. While Steve got his shoes shined, they met the Legend a.k.a. John Smith who was a mainstay in their memories and I’ve written about him before. They made a trek to George Dean’s Men’s Store in downtown Athens, mainly as a Hello to Mr. George Dean himself, as Steve worked there in college and remained a walking advertisement throughout his career. The boys never left without some little treat and a big hug from the man himself. They went to the small airport nearby and learned about the planes and watched them take off for hours. They met Terry Stent, a customer of Steve’s and a pilot who found out about their love of planes and took them on their first plane ride and pulled some G’s much to the delight of one of our guys. They discovered Old Sarge, a military surplus store, and spent hours perusing the multitude of gadgets, patches, and medals and always came home with a coveted stash. Steve would also take them around campus and tell them stories about UGA, which no doubt laid the seeds for their own love of the University to blossom later.

After the childhood years, Boys Day Out diminished in frequency and morphed a bit into inconsistent Saturday breakfasts with Dad (still at Waffle House), or pre-season shopping for the newest UGA football game day clothes. Steve cherished then and cherishes now every . single . minute. he has with his boys .…who are now men with their own littles.

Why do I write now…..well, because they just had another one yesterday….a G-Day Game Wally Boys breakfast in Athens with some UGA iconic speakers….Loren Smith, Brock Bowers, and Kirby Smart…talking about the upcoming season. Steve was so excited to know that what started long long ago still has a vestige of practice in their shared bond of Georgia Football. It was the topic of my gratitude journal entry today. I hope these captured moments together and memories from the past mean as much to them as it does to him.

Never forget…Big things have small beginnings. Boys Day Out sure did!