One Mississippi. Two Mississippi.
Nothing happened. But he scared the shit out of me.
I have always judged other people when their excuse for when something tragic happens to a kid or an animal is "I only turned away for two seconds."
I always thought, "Yeah right. Two seconds my ass. You were not paying attention for longer than that."
One Hippopotamus. Two Hippopotamus.
Last night Maxfield and I returned from the playground. I took his diaper bag out of the car and placed it on the ground. I unbuckled his car seat and lifted him out of the car. I placed him on the ground and told him to ring the doorbell to see if the dog was home. Max usually runs right to the front door.
I turned to pick up the diaper bag. One OneThousand. I bent down and picked it up. Two OneThousand. I look up and Maxfield was in the street. He ran about 20 feet in two seconds.
Nothing happened. But he scared the shit out of me.
One Changemyunderwear. Two Changemyunderwear.
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35 comments:
Life turns into a cartoon and a horror movie during that time. Clocks melt, slow motion happens, you can actually hear and feel you heart beating. Words like Terror, Horror and Fear, are defined in those two seconds.
Yikes! Those kidlets, they're FAST. That's happened to us, too. Buddy is quick and stealthy. As a parent, I really hate that about him...
Scariest feeling EVER!! Worse yet, is when the decide to "hide" in the department store among the racks of clothes....
That happened to us for the first time last week. I'm still coughing up pieces of my heart from when it got lodged all up into my throat. Scary stuff, this parenting.
I never say that anymore either about the 2 seconds because it really does only take a second. Those little stinkers are fast!
Yikes.
At least now you have learned a lesson about those little shits. ;)
Yikes, yikes.
I lost sight of Nik once at the Easter egg hunt at my mom's work. Scared the hell out of me. He was with her the whole time.
Horrible feeling.
Oh yes parenting is way scarier than rollercoasters or tall buildings or speaking in public. And I am not a fearful person.
I am glad that you know it can happen even to the best of parents.
Been there, done that. Horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. It blows me away how fast they can be.
Wait a few years until he doesn't hear you and Lauren when you ask him to do something, but can hear you whispering across the entire house when you are talking about his birthday or the next trip to the zoo. That always impresses me!
Very scary!!!
I like the way you write! Good job!
And thus, a few gray hairs popped out...
When my daughter was two she managed to unlock the back door and walk down the block while wearing nothing but her diaper and socks. I turned my back to pick up her infant brother. For two hair raising seconds. I still have heart palpitations when I remember seeing that door wide open and my daughter half way down the block..
I'm so glad Max is ok.....and you too....little boys and little girls tend to do that to us once in a while....and your right, it scares the shit out of you....it doesn't matter how closely we watch them, they always seem to find just that right moment to sneak away......
If you get up to 10 changemyunderwear I will not be coming to your house for dinner.
De-lurking to poke my nose in & offer unwanted advice (sorry).
We practice where our little ones can go. We warn them not to go into the street & then when they do, like we know they will, they get 'punished' by having to go back inside. It has worked for us with 3 kids & it only takes a couple of times for them to understand you mean it. My two yr. old is pretty good outside - I can turn away for up to 5 mississippi's!
I love poop & boogies, and not just for dinner! I had to go back to the beginning and read it all. Thanks for the laughs.
oh God I was feeling for you until I read the above comment then I started laughing uncontrollably...one second...
Ooops I meant the above anonymous comment.
That is scary as hell. I took my eyes off Liam for a sec in barnes & noble and nearly shat myself when I looked back and he wasn't anywhere. (he was crouched down behind a swivel rack of picture books).
Hm maybe I was actually having a Max "bookstore moment."
So glad nothing happened! My heart breaks when that particular parenting lesson is learned by something happening. It is human nature for the little ones to look for ways around the rules, and opportunities to run free. You're probably a better parent for the experience, even though it's not fun.
So glad he's okay!!!
I had a similar experience...turned away for 2 seconds..i swear it was only 2 and she fell off the curb into the parking lot...facefirst..:( I felt like shit.
I just said the same thing to Carolyn the other day, about the 2 seconds. I totally understand it now.
It happens to the best of us...Glad he's ok! I used to think the same thing before I had kids. Stacie
Holy crap!
I wish that all kids til they were about 8 had that "twinkle twinkle twink" sound imbeded in thier feet so you could hear 'em when they're running around where they're not suppose to be.
I'm glad Max is ok and was unharmed.
No kidding- doesn't it scare you about having another one to take your attention away? I am totally getting one of those leashes for my toddler when the second baby comes. Parking lots scare the crap out of me and that is when she is the wildest!
Yeah, it's hard for me to believe sometimes. Like when I thought Mo barely had time to get out the door and she managed to get out into the back yard and find a dead possum to nosh on.
It is amazing how quick those little lets can run!! I wish I had an ounce of my kid's energy so I could at least attempt to keep up with her!
They are fast. I will never in my life forget when we lived at our last house and my eldest took off for the street... a big one very close to the house. I took off practically at the same time but didn't catch him until he had one leg over the curb (I was right beside him... he was two but was holding a carseat with his new brother in it to put in the car and had to put it down). I caught him by the seat of his pants and pulled him back into my lap as I sat down in the grass. I just started bawling cause as I jerked him back a car sped by inches from the curb (HUGE oak tree in the way... they never saw him). He would have been smashed. I bawled for a long time and shook forever.
He was confirmed yesterday... 8th grade. I don't know how they make it through sometimes, but I'd say it's got something to do with lots of prayers and perhaps a few guardian angels.
Glad you're BOTH okay!! :)
Good GOD. You captured that moment of terror perfectly. My heart is racing.
Must go hug my kids now...
Yeah. omg. Thanks. You freaked me out just by reading this!!
aah, they are so scary! Our rules include she must be carried on any street and can't go past the sidewalk even onto the grass boulevard on our street. So far it's working about 98%, but sometimes she steps onto that grass... Then hoo-boy, she gets a loud mommy shout and picked up bodily and moved. Not meanly, but not gently.
Her last one-second lookaway accident involved falling off the front porch steps and face-planting in a bunch of dirt.
Scary! Scary! Scary!
Mr Man did the same to me over the weekend. Thankfully nothing happened, besides me having an aneurysm. Even the tough teen boys across the street said "Shit! He's fast!"
My son is 14 and going to be a Freshman in High School next year. As I was reading your blog and the comments, I flashed back to many similar episodes with Dillon.
A bit of background = we live in a very rural area, not very much traffic up and down the road and when my son was about 8, he was allowed to ride his bicycle down to the end of our very long drive, turn around and come back ... over and over.
That said, the second most scariest thing I've ever heard in my life, related to my son ...
Loud banging on my bathroom door (I'm in shower) and my cousin yelling ... "Karen, KAREN HE's OK, but Dillon's been HIT BY A CAR!" Good thing I was in the shower, cause I think I pee'd my pants.
The scariest thing ever was hearing a doctor say, "...your son has a mass in his neck that we need to remove and make sure it's not cancer." Yeah that was the bad one! Thank goodness it was benign.
holy crap.... that's happened to me and it's pretty damn scary!
I know the feeling you had all to well. I'd love to say that it's the only time it will happen but then I'd be lying to you. I'm so thankful this post was only about your scare and not about something much worse happening in those 2 little seconds that last forever.
And just how do these little kids get to be so fast anyway??? Can you imagine what we could accomplish if we could move that swiftly!!
Hope you are calmed down now.
Guess it's time to break out the duct tape. Seriously - these kids move so fast it's unbelievable. I know it's happened to us too. The policy we use is they have to be touching the car door (rather than just any part of the car b/c my kids would end up burning themselves on a hot part or something) and then I know they aren't running anywhere. Sorry you had a scare - glad Max is fine. Don't worry, eventually your heartrate will go back to normal.
yep. scary little buggers.
-n
The heart stops beating, the lump forms in the throat, the gasp for air is loud and agonizing...just for a second or two, until the adrenaline takes over, and motherhood and undying love takes hold. My babies! My babies! Even though they are 17, 13, and 12 years old. "Mrs. M,there's been an accident. Your children are on their way to the hospital in an ambulance. You might want to meet the ambulance there." " Are my children ok?" I ask. "We can't give you any more info than they are on their way to the hospital." The heart stops again! It is only seconds, but devastating. A seven minute ride to the hospital! Horrors! The fright is stammering! From the time they're born till forever, a parent worries. It's part of parenthood. Sorry, William, that you felt the fear. Be strong! It will be there forever. You're a Dad! Thank God, the injuries were minor, but all still have the scars. Yes, those seconds are something. That's all it takes. Reaching for a fallen lighted cigarette... how long does that take? I love you!
My MIL actually puts a cat collar with a jingle bell on my littlest one's ankle so she can track the stealthy little buggers movements.
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