After Cale and I finished Shift One on Friday morning, I gave him an OU shirt and told him that we had tickets to the OU/TX football game the next day and would be spending the weekend in Dallas.

We attended the Deer Creek football game Friday night to see the dedication of their stadium to Tyler Tidwell. What an incredible example of leaving a strong legacy. After the game, we had dinner with the family at Johnnies, then drove to Dallas.

We got to the fairgrounds at 10am on Saturday morning and enjoyed the fair until the gates opened at 12:30. The game was brutal, but we had a good time and went to eat Mexican food afterwards.

Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast then drove to Cedar Ridge Preserve for Difficulty Day. Cale had to hike 10 miles (1-mile loop trail 10 times). I gave him a card to read before each mile to give him something to focus his mind on.

Mile 1 (Ease) – We walked together at a leisurely pace with Gatorade and trail mix. This symbolized the ease of boyhood.

Mile 2 (Conflict) – Cale walked on his own and had to untie a series of knots in a rope. This symbolized the knot in your stomach when there is conflict in your life, and how facing these conflicts head-on is the best way to move forward.

Mile 3 (Circumstances)- Cale carried a backpack with a 50-pound stone inside and had to finish the mile in under 11 minutes (he finished under 10). Boys complain about their circumstances. Men act.

Mile 4 (Temptations) – I gave Cale a Gatorade, water, trail mix, cellphone, earbuds, etc. (temptations), and instructed him to resist the temptation of using any of them.

Mile 5 (Delays) – Cale was instructed to take at least 30 minutes on this mile. He was finishing these miles at a really good pace, so taking this long on this mile to represent the difficulty of delays was a good challenge.

Mile 6 (Discernment) – Cale memorized Proverbs 3:5-6 and recited it when he completed this mile.

Mile 7 (Responsibility) – I gave Cale a cup of water filled to the brim. He took his time and tried to keep every drop in the cup. He returned with the cup about 95% full.

Mile 8 (Reconciliation) – I gave Cale a 30 pound stone to carry on this mile. The stone represented the weight of broken relationships.

Mile 9 (Change) – Cale had to walk this mile backwards. His calves were burning at the end. Walking backwards represented the difficulty of change.

Mile 10 (Legacy) – My plan was to walk this mile together and talk all about shift one. Instead, he challenged me to a race. I’m not going to say who won, but I will say that this provided some motivation for me to get in better shape.

After the 10 miles, we had lunch and I gave him a cross necklace with the words “embrace difficulty” engraved on the back. It was an awesome weekend celebrating the completion of Shift One.