A couple of weeks ago, Braedyn learned a rough lesson from a bad experience. From what I can tell of discussions we’ve had since, this is one lesson that is going to stick. What is the lesson? That there are bad guys. Real bad guys, not just pretend bad guys that his beloved super heroes fight and win.
Braedyn’s Grandma and Auntie Mama took him out to celebrate his fifth birthday. During this joyous and much anticipated outing, he got to go to the toy store to pick out a toy and then go to a lunch house of his choice for dinner. Guess which one he picked? Yup. Red Robin. No surprise there.
But first, they went to Toys ‘R Us. Amazingly Braedyn’s head did not pop. In fact, I heard he was very deliberate and picky when it came to the toy he wanted for his birthday. When he saw it, he just knew it was the one! He very excitedly picked out the Tyco R/C Air Blade. So, with the Air Blade purchased, they were off to dinner.
After a scrumptious meal of mac and cheese and a devoured dessert over a melodious “Happy Birthday” song from the Red Robin staff, they headed back to the parking lot. And there was my van, side door open. And new toy gone. Braedyn decided NOW was the appropriate time for his head to pop. He was very upset, understandably so. He had been violated. He had his new toy, not even out of the box yet, stolen. (Side note…I’m SO, SO thankful they didn’t think to look in the glove box and take my iPod!)
Grandma and Auntie Mama calmed him down and assured him they would get him another. Braedyn was very lucky. Not all families could get him a replacement toy for the one that had been so wrongfully stolen.
This event continues to surface in our lives. Today we were getting a few groceries, and he spotted a Batman set of pajamas. That light up. The only thing that could have made them even MORE appealing to him would be if they had sewn candy corn around the neckline for him to munch on. Seriously, I thought his head would pop if he didn’t get them. Now, I don’t normally give in to whims at the grocery store, but he DID need some new pajamas, since last year’s look like capris on him now. So, I got them.
On the way home from the store as he lovingly embraced his new light up pajamas, he said, “I really like my new pajamas! I don’t want a bad guy to take them, Mommy.” Ugh. I assured him that no one was going to take his new pajamas. I promised we’d take them right into the house. Which we did. By the way, It is now 2:30 in the afternoon and he’s had them on for about 3 hours now. I’ll be amazed if we can get him OUT of his Batman pajamas and INTO his Batman costume for trick-or-treating. Tomorrow night.
So, this was a tough lesson for him to learn. It was ultimately a good one to learn, I guess. I mean bad things do happen to good people. But I can’t help but feel sad that he EVER had to learn this.
It’s not the item being stolen that is the real offense. It is an innocence that has been invaded. The thief didn’t get his hope though. The other day he told me, “Mommy, I think the police got the bad guy.” I sure as hell hope so.
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