Troubled Teens “Our Sons”

This last mid October Saturday, while hauling in the last two loads of hay for the year with five of the Oxbow boys, we stopped in between loads with the boys to grab a doughnut at the local bakery. The boys were so excited to get the doughnuts they had earned.

Two older couples arrived at the doughnut case just before the boys. Without saying a word, I watched as the boys waited with much anticipation while the two older ladies hand-picked two full boxes of doughnuts. This process took approximately 10 minutes, which seemed like a long time – even to me!

The older couples finished selecting their doughnuts and it was now the boys’ turn. The boys eagerly picked their doughnuts and we were off to get some drinks. On the way out of the bakery area I heard the older gentleman address me as the boys stood by.

He said, “Sir, I wanted to compliment you on how respectful your sons were while we were picking out our doughnuts.”

I said to the man, “Thank you. They need to be respectful.”

Then the man said, “You can be proud of your sons. There are not many young people that would have had that much patience with older people.”

I told the man thanks for the compliment and that I was proud of “my sons.”

What a great day to hear that compliment about our boys! Thanks to the parents for having the courage to work along side of us at Oxbow with “our sons.” Thanks to all at Oxbow for everything they do to help the boys along their journey.