I am beginning to wonder if I am not subconsciously trying to lose my children. In the past couple of weeks I lost Emily at the mall, Benjamin at Costco, and Rachel at church. Emily and Ben got lost on the same day because Nate and I were out looking for new cell phones. There we were, chatting with the T-Mobile guy. Not a care in the world. Well, Nate got tired of him so he thought he would do a head count on the children. Uh-oh. Emily was gone. I ditched the salesman and we began wandering store to store. With each consecutive store I began to panic a little more. I mean, this is my one year old. What kind of parent am I. Finally, I spotted a mall maintenance woman holding her a little way down the hall. Thanks goodness.
Well, since we weren't successful at the mall, we moved on to Costco. This time I strapped Emily safely into the grocery cart. We headed over to the cell phone kiosk. Ben and Rachel were running around in circles. They were happy and no one was around so I figured we were safe. Eventually we worked out a contract on a couple of phones and we were ready to be on our way. A quick call to the little speed demons and we'd be out of there. Low and behold, I found Rachel alone. Ben was gone. Something told me he was hiding. I began to search amongst the aisles while Nate headed over to check the bathroom. After ten minutes I finally decided to accept some help from a Costco employee. She got on her radio and began describing Benjamin, the missing child. Well, about that time, Ben stuck his head out from behind a large stack of boxes. He had been there watching the entire time.
Today, after church Rachel disappeared. I had all the kids with me, but I headed down the hall one way and Ben and Rachel went the opposite direction. Now, Ben loves to do this. "I'll meet you there mom." He likes his independence. So, I headed out to the van, figuring that I would find them there. However, as I peered inside I saw only Ben. "Not again" I thought. I got Ben and Emily settled and headed back to find Rachel. I did a full circle and a half around the church before I found her, crying next to a nice woman from the Spanish Branch. Poor, poor Rachel. So, I think I will invest in those harnesses. Or maybe some squeaky shoes. I have a friend who tells me those are fabulous. Or, perhaps, I should just invest in some parenting classes.
8 comments:
Oh I hate that pit in your stomach when you lose your kid. It's worse when you lose someone else's kid. And poor Sean, I seem to lose him on a regular basis. I ends up feeling completely abandonded, but like you said. Store workers are always willing to help find him.
Sad! You for sure don't need parenting classes - we've all lost our kids. I lost Carter at the library (he'd gone into the Story Time room, which is usually locked). I must say, though, I put Carter on a leash whenever I have all the kids by myself, and it's wonderful. I get a lot of looks and some rude comments (well, the comments usually come from San Diegans who don't have more than one kid). But it's worth my peace of mind.
By the way ... that wedding picture is gorgeous!! I don't remember that one - I love it.
Oh Steph, I am a BIG believer in the harnesses. The first time I lost Deacon was when I went to vote in November and I was 8 months pregnant. A running and crying pregant woman is not a pretty sight.
It's funny because I always thought I'd NEVER be the kind of parent to use a harness, I call that former Lindsey an idiot.
well, thats how it is when I baby sit your kids......not ALL the time of course.... :) It actually never happens....that much.
I never believed in harnesses until I had Jonathan. He was perpetually lost. One time, late at night, I wanted to vacuum his room before putting him in his crib..he was about 2 yrs old. When I went to get him, he was no where in sight and it was midnight. We got the neighborhood up, and looked for him. I finally got a call from a neighbor 3 blocks away saying she was looking at a little boy who resembled our son. He had followed a dog to her home. Soon he was in my arms, and the very next day, every door that exited the house had a lock on it...way up high so no one but parents could reach it. Then, there was the time we lost him in the mall. After having his name called out throughout the entire mall, we found him in the care of an elderly couple happily eating an ice cream cone Now, what lesson did he learn, I ask you?
Look at your blog...getting so technical and fancy on me..how's a sister to keep up! Scott came home and feel asleep at 9 on Sunday and again tonight..Can't wait for IFA to be finished!!!
I like the squeaky shoes idea!! I think that the other two saw how much you worried and loved Emily when she got lost so the rest wanted to see if you loved them just as much. They didn't want to miss out on all the fun and excitement!
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