I came home this evening with a special surprise for my sons. I wasn’t expecting to give it to them this evening but was pleasantly surprised to hear them still up when I came home. I worried what giving it to them would do but decided to do it anyway.
Between jobs this evening I stopped into Target to look at their toy sections. I want to be the type of father that occasionally surprises his children with a new toy. I wanted to get them something they’d be familiar with. A character from one of their favorite TV shows. I did a pass through the toy section and didn’t see anything they’d watched except PJ Masks and they aren’t big fans of that.
I got all the way to the end of the toy section and headed back figuring I’d settle for the alphabet train car I saw and then I saw the Thomas toys. I must have walked right by them and not noticed them or thought that end of the aisle was for older kid toys on my first pass. This is what I was looking for.
I stared at one and thought, who the hell is Gordon? He looks just like Thomas but it says Gordon. I don’t want to get them a side character. I looked more and scanned down the rack until I saw it. A Thomas, and not just any Thomas, a big one that lights up and tells stories. That is the gift I need to bring home to my children.
Having finished my job of herding chickens and letting a dog go potty I headed home with Thomas beside me. Once I got home and was surprised to hear the sounds of play coming from their bedroom I headed upstairs with Thomas and put him on the floor. When I rolled him he made his, “Woo, woo,” noise and my one son looked at him like he simultaneously couldn’t believe he was real and asking permission to play with him. Then he crawled forward and I’m sure I have seen him that happy before, but it was still a special sight.
That is why I did it. That is why I went out of my way to stop at a Target and spent too much money on a toy Thomas. That is why none of the restaurants appealed to me and I skipped dinner. That look on my son’s face, and the fact that my other son is currently snuggled up with Thomas in bed. It is those looks that make this whole parenting thing worthwhile.
David Huzzard Writes 