Monday, May 16, 2011

In Which I Lost My Son....Again!

My son, The Wanderer, The Great Escape Artist, did it again.


My sister and I took four of our seven kids to the zoo yesterday.

Everything was going great.  The babies were (mostly) happy in their strollers for most of the day.  The "big" kids, my three year old boy and her five year old girl, walked right with us and used their very best listening skills.

Then we stopped to eat lunch. 

Our table was right beside the entrance to the bathrooms, and as we were finishing up, The Boy told me he had to go potty.

I got up to take him, then handed Baby Girl off to my sister.  When I turned around, The Boy had vanished.

I assumed he was in the entry way to the bathrooms, but when I looked, he wasn't there.  I opened the women's bathroom door and called his name but didn't get a response.

At that point, the panic started to set in....again.

I went back and asked my sister if she saw where he went.  She said no, but he was walking toward the bathrooms when she saw him last.  I went back into the women's bathroom and looked in the stalls. 

He wasn't there.

Then I opened the door to the men's bathroom and called his name.  I got no response, and started walking in to check the stalls in there.  I didn't think there was anyone in there, but honestly, at that point, I really didn't care.  Just as I stepped in, a young guy, probably in his 20's, was walking to the sink.  He looked a little shocked to see me.  I asked him if a little boy had come in, and he just shook his head.

I think I stopped breathing at that point.

Just as I ran back out where I could see our table, The Boy was walking up from the opposite direction.  He tapped my sister on the shoulder and said, "Where's my mommy?"

I have no idea where he had been, and he was only missing for about 90 seconds, but I think he took another few years off my life.

I may have to invest in one of those little monkey backpacks and keep the child on a leash.

**I'll post more about our zoo day as soon as I can upload pictures!

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2 comments:

Karrie said...

Those boys sure have a way of keeping us mom's on our toes!

Pajama Mama said...

Good heavens. Yes, get the monkey backpack with the leash for public outings.