One of the greatest joys in my life is road trippin’ with “the boy”. I’m not sure when this all started but we’ve had some epic road trips over the years. Several years ago he ditched elementary school so we could go to the opening round of NCAA games in Dayton. The day was filled with 4 NCAA basketball games and loads of time with one another. We’ve seen concerts, NCAA, NBA, NFL and MLB games in cities near and far. The hours in the car and at the events are investments in our relationship. They are my joy and, hopefully, his too.

On Saturday he played in a double header (they went 1-1 on the day) in the morning, we picked apples as a family and then dropped the girls off before heading north to Cleveland for the Jason Aldean concert. My wife and I have been dreading discussing the need to have “the talk” sometime soon. 2 hours behind the wheel seemed like the perfect time. I’ll be honest and say that I handled it like a monkey handles a football. Not well. Probably should have consulted some books or guidance before broaching the subject. But it was us and it was real. Hopefully there is some value in that.

It’s probably a good thing we had “the talk” on the way to the concert. Once we arrived I sent my wife a text that said “We’re not in Kansas or at a Christian Concert anymore….”. It was an eye opener for sure. Especially for a soon-to-be 11 year old. The three ring circus culture didn’t take anything away from the show as Jason Aldean brought the house down. I said it after the concert but it was the best show I’ve been to. Especially because I got to share it with”the boy”. These road trips aren’t about accomplishments in seeing various events. They are about time together and building a lasting relationship as a father and son.

Looking forward to the next one.

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