Birthdays, Chuck E. Cheese & Mentors

Griffin turned 2 this past weekend and we partied it up. As the second boy in our family he tends to play second fiddle to his big brother and as much as we tried to push him to the front, he comfortable slid in behind his brother. So Caden led the way in unwrapping the gifts…and Griffey was fine with it. Caden would pick the toy he wanted to play with…and Griffey was fine with it.

It’s not that Caden doesn’t love Griffey, he’s just used to leading the way. In fact the night before the party we heard Caden singing himself to sleep, and do you know what he was singing? ....“Happy Birthday to Griffey…” Yep he sang it through twice before he faded off to dreamland.

But when we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese a new Griffin emerged…a riskier…more confident…more daring Griffin. It all happened when the guy in the Chuck E. costume comes out to visit the Birthday kids. Caden at 3 ½ is weirded out by the 6 foot rat and runs the other way…he will not go within 10 feet of the towering rodent.

But Griffin can’t get enough of Chuck E. He stood in front of a crowded room dancing with him… he gave him countless hugs… he high-fived him until his hands were red… and climbed up in his lap like he was Santa Claus. I’m not sure what was running through his 2 year old mind, but his admiration for this larger than life mouse moves my son to action.

I go in to check on my sons every night after they are asleep and I often whisper a prayer or speak a blessing over them. I regularly pray that they will choose good friends and wise counselors. I want to be my boys’ hero, but at some point I know that other men will wear that label for them too. So I pray they choose good heroes.

Some guys are fakes dressed up in costumes and I want them run for the hills…like Caden treats Chuck E. But others wear wisdom like a comfortable bathrobe. Their words are sound and their actions are full of integrity. So I hope my boys will climb up into the lap of those types of heroes like Griffin responds to Chuck E.