This picture is a re-enactment of what happened on Tuesday night.
And here is the story of what happened. Ken was reading in our room and I took J in to show Ken the cute Halloween Costume we had borrowed- it's a Tiger! Then I left J with Ken and I took the baby downstairs because he was fussy and I was hoping that he would take a nap. The baby did go down for a nap. I then noticed J's blanket on the floor down there and so after a few minutes of TV watching I took the blanket upstairs. I was sure that Ken had J ready for bed and so as I came into the room I said "Does my little Tiger want his blanket?" but I wasn't greeted by Ken and my little Tiger, Ken was the only one in the room. He was confused, wasn't J downstairs with me? No, he is up here......we checked the front door- it was ever so slightly open. We jumped out onto the porch..."one of his cars is missing." Ken said. And with that I took off running as fast as I could towards the big community park. When I was about a 1/2 a block away from the park I could tell he wasn't there. I stopped, I didn't know what to do, where would he have gone, I was about to run towards the next largest park when I thought that I should ask a group of pre-teen boys if they had seen a toddler go by. I started to run across the street and that is when I saw him, about a block and a half away. I SCREAMED his name and bolted, I didn't realize I could sprint that fast without shoes. I caught up to him right as he was turning down a pretty secluded path between houses- one that I never would have thought to go down. I felt so grateful that I had spotted him when I did, that I felt prompted to ask the boys instead of turning and running to the other park. I am not sure we would have found him and as he would have been in a completely different neighborhood, any adult who found him would have no idea who he was. He wasn't scared, he smiled at me in a way that said "Oh Fun, you came on the walk too!" I convinced him to walk back towards the house with me. He had crossed two streets by himself, this FREAKED ME OUT! It could have turned out so badly, but as we were walking back, even with me there, he wouldn't cross the street unless there were absolutely no cars nearby, (this is not normal for him, he usually will run out into the street, giggling with delight). When we made it back to our neighborhood Ken caught up with us, he had made the rounds of all the other parks, he picked J up and carried the rest of the way home.
Did I mention that I was wearing my bright pink running shirt and a Tiger Ears headband...yeah I must have looked insane sprinting down the road. But who cares, I found my boy just in time.
I believe in God. I believe he watches over little wayward boys who want to go on an adventure and I believe he guides frantic parents in their search to find their beloved child. For the past few days the front door has been dead-bolted shut and although he has tried, J hasn't escaped since.
P.S. the baby slept through it all- 2nd tender mercy of the night.
3 comments:
Whew that was a close one. Definitely a blessing of having the Holy Ghost in our lives. Don't you think? I'm SO happy he's okay. And no, it doesn't matter what you looked like running after him.
So scary! I think God gives parents stronger hearts in order to make it through the many heart attacks our children give us! And some day (when he is dating), this will make a great, funny story to share! =)
Okay, so it's not just me. The other day Lucy decided to run out of the store while I was checking out, and I had this moment of anxiety; chase after my 2 year old (who was 2 1/2 stores down the sidewalk by the way) or stay with my infant, cart, purse, etc. at the checkout. I had to choose. . .and went after her. It all worked out, but I can totally relate with the stress and trauma associated with it. It taught me a lot about God and myself as a mother. I wasn't even mad, I was scared. My heart goes out to you, girl.
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