There is an event in our family called "Daddy-Owen Fun Day". The tradition began when Brandon and Owen would spend Fridays together while I was at work. The boys have had some pretty fun and exciting experiences during DOFD. One adventure is even posted somewhere out in Youtube land.
Since Brandon is in Kentucky this week, I thought we needed to have a "Mommy-Owen-Miles-Daisy Fun Day". After dinner, I announced the big event. "Owen, go potty and get your shoes on. We are having MOMDFD!" I was running around the house getting myself and Miles ready. A few minutes later I checked on Owen. He was in the process of putting on his shoes, but they weren't just any old shoes. He was lacing up his "shiny shoes" from a wedding he was in last year. My response "No, not your shiny shoes. Put on your light up shoes." As you can see, I am clearly a novice at MOMDFD. This day was all about fun and to Owen, shiny shoes were fun. So, we headed to the mini-van shiny shoes in tow. With Daisy the wonder dachshound riding shotgun and the boys strapped into their carseats, we were ready to go. Now . . . what to do.
Owen is practically obsessed with the highway. Anytime we drive over or near the interstate he asks if we can join the mad dash of cars and trucks streaming up and down I-90. With gas prices up over $4 and tolls doubling every other minute, we don't often joyride up and down I-90 at the request of our toddler. However, today was MOMDFD. Highway, here we come! Before leaving the lowway (as Owen calls any road that is not a highway), we made a quick stop at one of Owen's favorite hangouts--Starbucks. His drink of choice--chocolate organic milk. With a tall double chocolaty chip blended creme frappachino and a chocolate organic milk box in hand, we headed for the highway.
We arrived at our destination. As we merged into traffic at the State Street entrance, we were delighted to be passed by a UPS semi-truck with a double trailor. Does is get any better than that? It sure does! Not only did we see bulldozers, steam rollers and dump trucks, we saw a huge digger actually digging! All this excitement occurred during the 5 glorious minutes we were on the highway. As we exited at Route 173, Owen could only say . . . "I wanna go back on the highway." Sadly enough, this was not possible. We had one last stop to make.
I'm not quite sure how this fits into MOMDFD, but I learned that if you drum up enough enthusiasm, anything can be considered fun. We stopped by my mom and dad's house to water the plants. We were able to turn on the big, green hose and use the watering can . . . yahoo!?! We talked about how much fun it is to be part of a family and to be able to help each other. I know this might be a bit of a stretch for inclusion in MOMDFD, but like I said, it's all in the presentation.
Well, that was my attempt at MOMDFD. It's amazing what a fun day looks like to a child. I can learn a thing or two from my three year old who finds pleasure in the simple things in life as long as he's with mommy or daddy. God has created a big, beautiful world for us to enjoy if we simply take the time to explore. So, when you have a chance, gather up your loved ones, put on your best shiny shoes and hit the road!
