A Day With The Other Boy!

Yesterday I spent the day with Benjamin (the other boy), Evan and Julia in Amarillo, TX. Now I am not necessarily a fan of Amarillo, TX but it is necessary sometimes to get the things that unfortunately we are unable to procure here in Guymon. So we left at 8:30am and drove down to spend the day finishing some Christmas shopping and to just take the opportunity to get out of Dodge for the day. Benjamin did wonderful and slept the entire 2 hours down as well as through most of Sams which began our shopping day.
We then went to Bennigans and ate lunch and I have to say that until I became a parent I never realized the way that many restaurants neglect to upgrade their facilities to be parent friendly. I picked up my son and his diaper changing supplies and headed towards the men's bathroom. After finding out that there was no changing station and seeing the situation that the sink was in (not sanitary or large enough) I then went back to our booth and changed my son's soiled diaper right there in front of all the business class patrons who were currently eating. I suppose if it infinged on the sensibilities of anyone there they chose not to mention it. But he was pretty good through the whole process and must have thought it was funny at times as I got a few smiles.
After visiting several others stores we decided to head home. We stopped at a Toot -n- Totum Conoco station to fill up and hopefully get a drink for the road. I love the small pleasures of life that just make the journey sweeter. I am a fan of Icee drinks as is Evan. I walked inside hoping to find an Icee machine to satisfy my craving. Not only did I find one but I found 4 with a total of 8 flavors. My eyes lit up and I am sure that I had the look of Christmas morning on my face. I grabbed a cup after telling Evan about the gold mine that awaited us and made myself a large coke and white cherry Icee. From Amarillo to Stratford, TX (about 1 hr and 15 mins) I was filled with a sense of overwhelming glee at the frosty beverage I held in my hands. Life's little pleasures affect me in that way.
Benjamin slept all the way home and was quite the Christmas shopping trooper. It is not hard to find new reasons to like my son. All in all I had a good day with the other boy. The best part about trips like these is the homecoming. Not only did I get to spend all day with my little boy I also got a warm and laugh-filled welcome from my big boy Joshua. Being a dad is great. God bless.