The Hero Dad

My boy had had a playdate scheduled with a friend on Saturday. They made plans two weeks ago. The boy wrote it on my calendar with a black Sharpie.

Knowing that his friend liked to sleep in, the boy opted to enjoy his usual Saturday morning father-son breakfast. After returning home, the boy called his friend to see what time we could pick him up. No one answered. He tried several more times. No one ever called back.

It was one of those moments when I wished I could wrap my boy in bubble wrap to protect him from anything that might cause him pain. I remember how hard growing up can be. My heart's desire was to shield my boy from being hurt.

Secretly I wanted to track down the Mom and ask why she would allow her child to make plans and then just break them without so much as a call. I wanted to tell her that this kind-of behavior may be acceptable in her world, but that the Ha family doesn't roll that way. We keep our commitments.

But I didn't.

I knew this wouldn't be the last time that my boy is wounded by a friend. There will be many difficult moments as he travels the road from boy to man. It is one of the few guarantees in life.

Instead, I gave the boy a hug and told him that this wasn't how a friend should behave... that I knew he was upset, and rightly so... that the whole situation stunk. I told him that I was truly sorry.

He shrugged it off and then tried to call a few other friends. They, of course, had already made plans. The look on my boy's face was one of anger, frustration and hurt. I didn't know what to say...

Enter The Hero Dad.

He invited his boy to have a wrestling match, something they both love. After they were sufficiently exhausted and sweaty, my two guys snuggled up to watch the new Star Wars the Clone Wars episode that had recorded on the DVR. The hero Dad held his boy close.

We then piled into the car for a Ha family outing. Our first stop was a local coffee shop. While The Hero Dad ordered our coffee, the boy grabbed a bottle of IBC Cream Soda, one of his favorites. We enjoyed our drinks as we made our way to The Great Escape where we spent some time perusing their selection of used toys, video games, CDs and DVDs.

Our final stop was Fork's Drum Closet. After drumming out beats on nearly every kit in the shop, the boy picked out a few new pairs of drum sticks. It seems like he burns through them pretty quickly these days.

As we headed for home, the boy seemed lighter... like a weight had been lifted off his eight-year-old shoulders. I, of course, give credit to the hubby.

Sometimes a boy needs a Hero Dad to come in and save the day.