This weekend, my family and I decided to do our weekly shop at Trader Joe's with hopes of getting some good deals on organic foods. While there, my son took off with his kiddie cart going a little too fast, and I started chasing him so that he wouldn't run into anyone. The store was packed and I was very concerned that he might crash into a fellow customer. My husband stayed back with the large cart and the baby. So, I'm chasing him and he decides to leave his cart (which had some of our food in it) in the middle of an aisle because he "wanted Daddy". Now I'm chasing him with the kiddie cart and he is, humiliatingly, running in circles around the store. I probably should have just left the cart somewhere, but I also knew it would cause a backlog. Finally, I see him at the end of an aisle in the milk section, I head down that aisle to the end....and he's. Not. There. I immediately started walking a couple laps in hopes that I would see him or my now missing husband. No dice.
Two laps later, I find my husband and still no son. By then, I'm getting panicked. My husband hadn't seen him, and I knew that I had just barely missed him. Visions of a stranger walking out of the store with him started dancing in my head. I decide to walk one more lap while my husband immediately heads to the front of the store to keep an eye on the door and the store. I find an employee and explain my situation, what my son was wearing and when I last saw him. After checking outside, Trader Joe's seals the doors to the store, makes an announcement on the intercom for a "three-year-old wearing a white polo responding to the name of E". Around this time, I'm starting to think the worst. "This really might be happening," runs through my head. Ten minutes later (five? It felt like an eternity, I really don't know.), there is an announcement that he has been found. After going back to the front of the store, I find out that he was outside of the restrooms on a bench because he "had to go potty." I shiver to think of the many outcomes that could have occurred with this incident, and I'm seriously thinking of instituting a child-leash in our house. (Just joking! Sort of.)
Trader Joe's has earned my full respect and I plan, when I have the chance, to write a thank you note to their store for their quick action with their version of "Code Adam". The kind employee that I contacted at the beginning of the whole mess, even hugged me, and gave me a free bouquet of flowers to help brighten my day. It kind of worked. I only wish I remembered her name. I may not win a "Mother of the Year" award any time soon, but I'm so thankful for the kindness of strangers, and the apparently diligent work of my son's guardian angel. (I'm hoping his angel has a great therapist, because I think that holy being works overtime for our family! *wink*)
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| My grandmother had this picture, as a painting or tapestry, hanging in her house when I was growing up, and I truly loved it! |
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