No matter the destination, there's always a first

One day Declan simply tired of his blue winter jacket. I have no clue what prompted it, and when I questioned him as to why he didn't want to wear it, he replied with a growl, "Because it's the worst jacket ever!"

He would offer no further specifics and complained incessantly every morning for several days, until I finally promised to shop for a new one.

I made certain he was with me for the selection process, having no clue why his blue jacket had fallen so quickly from his favor. Unsurprisingly, he found an army green camouflage patterned jacket that he quickly exclaimed his affection for.

Several months of winter passed, with Declan happily donning his green camo jacket each morning, until one day he stumbled upon his old blue jacket hanging in the closet.

"Did you buy this for me?" he asked, holding up the jacket.

"What? No, that's your old jacket, the one you don't like," I replied.

Declan eyed the jacket curiously, as if he was uncertain he believed me, then said, "It's pretty nice."

A few moments later he was marching out the door with a big grin on his face, wearing his old blue jacket, the worst jacket ever.

I chuckled to myself on our drive to school, reminded of a similar scenario from my youth involving my mother and step-father. The couple was driving through a small Wyoming town that they had driven through probably a dozen times prior, but for whatever reason, my mother began complimenting how cute it was as if she had never see the town before.

I looked back at Declan in the mirror, he was eyeing the sleeve of his old/new jacket, just as he had done when the green camouflaged jacket was first purchased. The words my step-father spoke, that day in Wyoming, were to0 fitting to pass up.

"You know buddy that's what I love about you," I said.

"What?" he questioned, looking up at me in the rearview mirror.

I replied with a smile and the utmost sincerity, "No matter where I take you, it's the first time you've ever been there."