Feeling Grateful

Mile: Unknown
When we got Ole Red almost two years we didn’t realize just how much we needed him in our family. Since that time we have been able to go on dozens and dozens of adventures that we likely would not have gone on if it wasn’t for this beat up old truck.

The last few weeks we had a couple interactions that I want to mention so I don’t forget when we look back on this when our house is as quiet as a church mouse because Jackson has grown up and is off on his own.

The first was a simple time in the drive thru at Dunkin while I got yet another tea. To stay in our lane we had to hop the curb with our creaky old truck. I had forgotten just how mesmerized Jackson was by Ole Red being able to hop the curb. He was hanging out the window keeping look out for me making sure we wouldn’t hit anything and he was giggling like any 6 year old always should be. One of Heather’s formers student’s mom had seen us and snapped a pic of us in that moment. She let me know how much of a smile we put on on her face knowing all the memories we were making in Ole Red.

The second was when we were at Popey’s and a long time married couple had pulled up next to ours and were amazed at the truck. One day I hope Heather and I are as happy and content as they were, knowing we had raised Jackson right and he had become successful and was making memories with his children just like we had with him. We gave them one of our cards so they could follow our adventures.

In that moment I realized again how awesome it was for Jackson to see what life used to be like when he is in Ole Red. There is no button to push to put up the windows… you need to put in the effort to crank them up. Similarly, there are no power brakes … you really need to put in that effort to stop. There is no power steering so you need to always use both hands and give yourself a workout to give you the results you desire. Sometimes, I think with all of the electronics, computers and technology it has made it much harder to convey to our children that to get ahead in life you need to put in hard work and effort.

He may not realize it now but I hope one day he realizes Ole Red was much more than just a beat up old pickup truck …

Please follow our adventures … we promise it will put a smile on your face.