My son, Colton, was awarded “Thursday Boy of the Year”. This, by far, is the most important moment in his ten years of life. For those of you who are not familiar with Thursday Boys – here is a little background. Thursday Boys began over a decade ago by Jim Redwine, a Fort Worth business owner that decided he wanted to spend more time with his kids. Thursdays seemed like the best day and he began a tradition of uninterrupted play with his kids in the park across from their elementary school. Other boys joined in and the group grew to an astounding 500 members.
You see, it’s not all about play. Each Thursday Boy is expected to participate in some form of community service. Through those experiences, the kids earn the next level of cap – first blue, then red and then black. With each level comes more privileges combined with more responsibility.
For my son, earning the coveted “Thursday Boy of the Year” will be a memory that will remain for a lifetime. He removed all of his other trophies that have lived on his shelf and replaced them with his Thursday Boy of the Year Trophy. I think he knew that the other trophies were not given to him because of something he earned. Those trophies were handed to every kid on the team regardless if they showed up to practice or hit a home run. But the Thursday Boy of the Year trophy was awarded specifically to Colton for his leadership, sportsmanship, and compassion. Colton got the trophy not for just showing up – but for picking up the trash in the park, volunteering at the nursing home, tutoring younger kids, and raising his hand every time help was needed.
The trophy is big and blue with silver plastic accents made to look like metal. It’s not something that is easy to decorate around. Still, I hope that someday when he is grown and married – his wife will keep one trophy off of the top shelf of the closet and find a place to display his Thursday Boy of the Year – even if it clashes with the couch!
