Third Child Syndrome
When my sister Amy was about 2 years old, she had a little toddle bike, the kind you sat on and pushed with your feet. It was one of her favorite toys at that age, and also one of the most problematic. Several times she rode it straight off the curb and landed on her head. Poor little girl! I remember several times she had a nasty bruised and battered face. However, one day she added another dimension to toddle bike-induced worry. I don't know what was going through her mind exactly (do you remember, Amy?), but she headed out on her bike by herself. She made it down our long street, turned the corner and headed down the hill. Some kind, concerned neighbors eventually found her and walked her back up the hill. Of course, they had no idea where she lived, and she couldn't tell them herself. By that point my mother had discovered that Amy was missing, and Camie and I headed out on our bikes to try and track her down. Huge sigh of relief when she was found. My mom must have been a nervous wreck.
Well, B seems determined not to be left out on some of these third child experiences. We've had some of the ER trips (like our family had with Amy) for a second degree burn and OD'ing on medicine. Plus two nasty head injuries (one falling from a chair, the other from the back of the couch.) So last night she just had to add the final piece to the list. While I was busy washing bottles and trying to calm a wailing baby, I told the other kids to get ready to go run some errands. When they got their shoes on, they were supposed to get in the van. By the time I made it out to the car with my arms full of baby carrier and bag, the garage door was already open, and M and J were sitting in their seats in the car. But where was B?
I ran back through the house, yelling that it was time to go. I checked the backyard, but no dice. When I came back out to the garage, I noticed that B's scooter was missing.
Uh oh.
Running out to the sidewalk I scanned up and down our street. No sight of her anywhere. I called a few times but no B scurried out of a neighbor's yard or came up out of the retention basin.
Oh, crap.
Now I was really starting to get worried. Where was she? Even in the few instances where she has gone out front by herself, I always find her toward the end of our cul-de-sac, so I jumped in the car and we headed down to the end of the road. No B. By this time I was starting to get horrific visions in my head (I'm sure I don't need to elaborate.) While I was debating which way to drive off next, a truck pulled up behind and the woman rolled her window down.
"Are you missing a little girl?" she asked.
"Yes!" I cried anxiously.
"She's down by the pool area. Some neighbors found her, and they're walking up the street with her."
The pool area!!!! That's several blocks away from our house! I hurriedly thanked the lady and sped off. We found her on a side street not far from the pool area, walking along with a kind neighbor who was trying to see if B recognized any of the houses.
I think it took nearly an hour to get my heart rate back to normal. Now I know exactly how it feels to feel nothing but profound gratitude, relief, and fury together. I wanted to kiss B, hug her tight, and shake her all at once.
I guess I'm going to have to come up with a new strategy to keep track of all my kids at the same time. As Terence said later when I told him about it, "Welcome to having four kids."
Well, B seems determined not to be left out on some of these third child experiences. We've had some of the ER trips (like our family had with Amy) for a second degree burn and OD'ing on medicine. Plus two nasty head injuries (one falling from a chair, the other from the back of the couch.) So last night she just had to add the final piece to the list. While I was busy washing bottles and trying to calm a wailing baby, I told the other kids to get ready to go run some errands. When they got their shoes on, they were supposed to get in the van. By the time I made it out to the car with my arms full of baby carrier and bag, the garage door was already open, and M and J were sitting in their seats in the car. But where was B?
I ran back through the house, yelling that it was time to go. I checked the backyard, but no dice. When I came back out to the garage, I noticed that B's scooter was missing.
Uh oh.
Running out to the sidewalk I scanned up and down our street. No sight of her anywhere. I called a few times but no B scurried out of a neighbor's yard or came up out of the retention basin.
Oh, crap.
Now I was really starting to get worried. Where was she? Even in the few instances where she has gone out front by herself, I always find her toward the end of our cul-de-sac, so I jumped in the car and we headed down to the end of the road. No B. By this time I was starting to get horrific visions in my head (I'm sure I don't need to elaborate.) While I was debating which way to drive off next, a truck pulled up behind and the woman rolled her window down.
"Are you missing a little girl?" she asked.
"Yes!" I cried anxiously.
"She's down by the pool area. Some neighbors found her, and they're walking up the street with her."
The pool area!!!! That's several blocks away from our house! I hurriedly thanked the lady and sped off. We found her on a side street not far from the pool area, walking along with a kind neighbor who was trying to see if B recognized any of the houses.
I think it took nearly an hour to get my heart rate back to normal. Now I know exactly how it feels to feel nothing but profound gratitude, relief, and fury together. I wanted to kiss B, hug her tight, and shake her all at once.
I guess I'm going to have to come up with a new strategy to keep track of all my kids at the same time. As Terence said later when I told him about it, "Welcome to having four kids."
Comments
Glad everything turned out well!