D.A.D.: Revenge or Reconcile?

Some little monster bit my daughter.

She stuck her little pale arm out to show me the perfect little red circle just below her wrist.

"Boo boo, Dah-dee," She said.

A million thoughts popped into my head in a jumble at that moment. My favorite involved testing DNA with saliva around the bite mark so I could find the little cuprit and break all their toys while they slept.

But, the daycare won't release the identity as is policy. So, I am stuck with revenge fantasies.

Truthfully we are lucky, another child literally almost lost an eye because the same little cannibal took a hunk of cheek in that assault.

So for now I need to deal with the eventuality that Dah-Dee (Daddy) can't be the great protector. I tried speaking about it with my mother, who raised me to be tolerant and patient with others.

But that apparently doesn't apply to violence against her grandaughter.

After insisting that I find a new daycare center or explore other options she then said she was going to drive to the daycare center and knock out the teeth of all the kids there.

Or sit in the parking lot in a Sherlock Holmes hat with a telescope spying.

She literally said these things with no exaggeration.

She honestly couldn't come to grips with the fact that someone had hurt our 17-month-old little pumpkin.

I couldn't come to grips with the fact that I couldn't protect her.

What about you? When was the first moment you realized you couldn't protect your children from everything? And how did you DEAL with it?