The Route

One night after dinner, I decided to ask Mitchell if he wanted to go for a bike ride with me. I don't know why I wanted to go for one so bad because I haven't ridden a bike in at least a couple of years, but I had the urge to. Thankfully he did want to go with me. Sometimes he gets a bad attitude if I ask him to do something because I'll be dragging him from something else that he is doing, such as his x-box or playing on the computer. So eventually he decided to take the trip with me. He loves riding his bike and being outside, which is a great for a kid his age. As we were coming out of the driveway, he tells me that he was going to take me on his route. I was really surprised that he had a route because he really is not much of a planner.

After we had taken turn after turn, I realize that he was really just taking me in a huge circle. I then mentioned to him that I was going to lead. He really didn't like that idea, but gave it up. On our way home, we had driven past the high school football team practice. As we slowly drove by he said, "Sam, why don't I play football?" At that point in time, I knew that I wouldn't be able to tell him the truth because I didn't want him to think that he was completely different from everyone, even though he was. So all I told him was that he could possibly be the water boy if he asked the coach. Then, at that moment, he had gotten this huge smile on his face and I knew that he knew that he could join a team without being let down or rejected. That day, I learned that the best gift in life is not always one that comes in a box, but one that gives someone hope and confidence to go out and do something they believe in.