I was in the bathroom, doing, um, bathroom-type stuff, the completely dainty and delicate kinds of things, mind, and Robbie got out of the house.
And by "got out of the house," I of course mean he opened the door and went outside.
I forgot to use the special Anti-Robbie-Getting-Out Latch, fashioned by my brilliant and lovely husband.
So, Robbie was free to just go. Like people do. Outside. Outside is a nice change from inside, what with the weather and southwesterly winds, and neighbors and trees and things.
May not seem so bad to you. So, a five year-old goes out for a stroll. They do that. I hear they do, anyway. Maybe they don't. Do they?
However, most have some level of knowledge about streets and traffic and staying away from streets and traffic. Rob does not.
In fact, the nice, sweet, adorable yard-working, tree-cutter-downer from *across* the street who escorted Robbie back home to me told how he saw Robbie, out in the street, in the traffic, running around.
I have never felt so shitty or so scared. I have no words to describe. Can't describe the panic. The anxiety. The pissed-offedness I feel towards me. I am ashamed.Sad.
And a little mortified.
You see, not only does Robbie not understand the streets and the traffic, he doesn't get that everyone wears pants when they are outside.
Yes, he had no pants. No diaper, no shorts, no underwear, no anything.
Just a shirt and shoes and socks. In the street, with the cars.
I am a terrible mother.
Comments (12)
Don't be so hard on yourself. The little buggers are slippery, sometimes they escape. Scary AS HELL, so I sympathize with you wholeheartedly, and I'm thrilled and relieved he's safe. But I bet every mother collects a story like this before motherhood turns to grandmotherhood. 15 years from now, when you're retelling this to a group of friends, the nudity aspect of it will make it even funnier. So cut that out.
Posted by Karla | October 4, 2006 10:52 PM
You had a terrible experience, but you are not a terrible mother.
Sometimes they escape our protective force fields, we feel like shit for a spell, and then some equally shitty thing happens in between the great things that we don't notice because we're so busy folding the laundry.
It's hard being a mom, and you get extra points, I see you as the diva queen rock goddess of Moms.
Posted by lu | October 4, 2006 11:02 PM
Heh. I do tend to be a bit hard on myself. It's hard to know what falls into the "normal" category and what things and behaviors are Robbie-specific.
Thanks, K.
Posted by t | October 4, 2006 11:03 PM
THANKS, Lu!
I never fold laundry.
Posted by t | October 4, 2006 11:04 PM
Oh no, you poor thing. Seriously, could happen to any of us. If it doesn't, it's just out of sheer luck. You would have been a bad mother if you hadn't noticed he was gone after maybe an hour. OK, half an hour.
Posted by Lunasea | October 5, 2006 1:19 AM
That kid has some good guardian angels. I think this is the kind of thing that's MUCH worse when you're alone and there's nobody else there to tell you that everything's okay, nothing bad happened, and it's really kind of funny, in retrospect.
You'll probably never, ever forget to latch the door again. You're a good mom.
Posted by marian | October 5, 2006 9:14 AM
Oh, yes, he totally does have some seriously wonderful guardian angels.
In fact, I had written into the post that I am absolutely, positively, 100% certain no harm will come to him because of traffic. It's just something I know.
Obviously, I would never, ever chance that, nor will I stop in my vigilance of watching over him, but, you know. I just know.
I do worry he'll get away from me in a crowded place. It's hard to relax in the crowded places.
Posted by t | October 5, 2006 12:08 PM
No, you're not a bad mother! Not at all. You're a normal mother. Believe me, I've been a mom for 13 years - I can tell you some "bad mother" stories! All mothers have "bad mother" stories. What makes us good mothers is that we recognize these things and learn from them.
Posted by Heather | October 5, 2006 11:10 PM
This happened to the best mom I know recently. And she wasn't even in the bathroom at the time. She made a quick phone call, and when she turned around all she could see was her 3-1/2 year-old's hat lying in their backyard, kid nowhere to be seen.
Any parent, any time. For some of us, it's especially scary, of course.
Posted by Sarahlynn | October 9, 2006 10:11 AM
Holy Crap, Sarahlynn! I am assuming the story ended well, but, man! Where was the child? What happened?
Posted by t | October 9, 2006 10:24 AM
That is a beautiful picture...you can see the peace and love of the moment...we all have shitty mom moments, when you have them, look at that picture...
Posted by lizziepea | October 10, 2006 3:17 PM
You had a classic Mommy Moment. Through God's grace, most of our kids survive when we have our Mommy Moments. Praise God your neighbor was there so your little one came through unscathed.
We all have them. The moments when the slippery little critters throw themselves headlong into mortal danger while our backs are turned for just a moment. They do that.
The only person who thinks you're a bad mother is you. Because you're a good mother. A bad mother would have given the kid a beating for embarrassing her and would have gone back to her crack pipe.
Posted by Christina | November 15, 2006 8:50 AM