Defining Moments: Stanley G. Deaton

Today is Stanley’s 6th Birthday.

He was born at the Build-A-Bear at Four Seasons Mall during late afternoon August 7, 2008.

My friend Krista was there for his birth and helped pick out his first outfit: a blue button up shirt with a cute little sweater vest. We were on our way home from my 2nd year at Candlestick.

For his first year and a half, Stanley lived an unassuming life. He slept beside me each night and spent the rest of the day playing with the other stuffed animals in my room/apartment.

Then came a trip to Birmingham in January 2010 and everything changed for my sweet little boy.

Riding in the backseat of Boss’s Honda Pilot, I found myself sitting beside Stanley and T-Bow, Boss’s brand new stuffed cat.

As we were talking about T-Bow and how her niece and nephew had given her to her—yes, T-Bow is a girl—I said, “You should start taking T-Bow with you everywhere you go and take a picture of her so that your niece and nephew know more of what you do as Executive Director. You could actually share it on Facebook so that everyone would know what you do. You do so many things that people don’t know you do. This could be a cool way to show people.”

While Boss may have quickly forgotten about the conversation, I did not.

In fact, just a couple of weeks later, Stanley made his public debut at a planning meeting in Wilmington, NC.

From that point forward, Stanley has gone with me to almost every special meeting, event, vacation, performance, and special occasion in my life. He traveled around South Carolina and made many friends there. He’s been to Birmingham, AL; Orlando, FL; Phoenix, AZ; New Orleans, LA; Jamaica; the Bahamas; the beach; the mountains; and many places in between. His wardrobe has more than quadrupled from that one shirt and sweater vest and he has both lost and gained weight through his years.

Since leaving SC, life has slowed down a bit for Stanley. He is still my constant traveling companion, riding with me to and from everywhere I go, but most days, I don’t do anything out of the ordinary—just go to school, church, or counseling or to visit friends and family members in the area.

Evenso, Stanley is still a well-loved monkey who I am honored to call monkey-son.

I had no idea that a passing comment to Boss would change the way I traveled and move a quiet, unassuming stuffed monkey into a position of popularity. In fact, at one point during my ministry in SC, I think Stanley was more popular than me! :-) Sometimes in life we choose our defining moments. Sometimes our defining moments choose us. This moment was a little of both, I think. And I am so glad.

Happy Birthday, Stanley G. Deaton. Here’s to many more years of life, work, and travel.