We were told that our only competition was really each other and after the brilliant display last Thursday they really had no choice but to allow us to share the title. Grandma did receive an honorable mention however.
You see, last Thursday after swimming, Mark, myself, Grandma, Grandpa and the kids went to a car show in Danville. There were zillions of people and after making a pass down the main street we decided to bail and get something to eat. On the way back to the car we stopped at an Indian Restaurant. We asked to be seated on the patio as it was completely empty. The kids were being a bit of a handful; Makena kept wanting to go to the potty and Kessler didn't want to be held.
Mark had been wrestling with Kessler for a while so I suggested that he just put him on the ground (again, we were the only ones there.) When he started to crawl around one of us followed him. It was the perfect solution, until our food came. Grandpa had gone to take Makena to the restroom again. Grandma, Mark and I were identifying our meals and making room for the plates, as people tend to do in this situation. When the waitress left, Mark said, "Where's Kessler?" I tend to be inclined to overreact but in this instance there was no need. We were in a relatively small enclosed area. He had to be under another table somewhere or behind one of the pillars. It had only been seconds since we last saw him. Mark heads to the other side of one of the pillars with purpose and I think, "see, we just couldn't see him." Only, he doesn't stop at the pillar he keeps going.. then he's on the other side of the little wall--outside of the patio. How did he get there? Grandma jokes, "Kessler's probably in the street." Then I hear, "Shit, Kel!" and watch Mark pick up the pace. I look ahead of Mark to see Kessler sitting on the sidewalk just a few feet from an extremely busy road. This is only after crawling past a packed parking lot.
Here's a visual:
All joking aside, it was an extremely horrifying experience. How did he move so quickly? How did none of us notice? I wasn't even close to questioning where he was yet! This really brought home the realization the we often get comfortable that the kids are being looked after when there are a lot of people around. The reality is, it's just the opposite. Everyone always thinks someone has the kids. Very scary!
3 comments:
yikes!!! thank goodness nothing bad happened. and thank goodness Mark is fast. wow. scary stuff.
my friend's 2 year old learned how to open the back door....and push the button to open the garage.... by the time she realized this, he was running down the street (luckily a residential street). she too was horrified. could have been really bad.
you need a baby GPS so you can keep tabs on em!
I've seen you both in action, you definitely get my vote for 'Parents of the Year'. Mark is just wonderful with the kids and as for you...how many people would notice that their three year-old is unhappy with her new preschool class and would spend hours sitting in on the class in order to observe the teachers? That's enough for the award right there!
We had a very similar story at a fair in Los Gatos last year - it all took place in under two minutes but its scary how fast they can get out of your sight!
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