Today, at the High Park castle, I "lost" Amado for 5 to 10 minutes. And it seemed like much longer than that.For those who don't know, the castle at High Park is an amazing playground for kids. It's a huge wooden castle of mazes, ladders, bridges, slides, and lots of hidden spaces. Today was a beautiful day in Toronto (high 30sF!) and there were lots of kids at the castle.
I was at the top of a tube slide, and Amado went down. Usually he just gets up and goes around the corner to the place he can climb back up. When he does this, he is out of my sight for just a second, as he climbs up the various stairs and pathways to the top of the slide again.
But this time he didn't reappear. I waited a few seconds, then went down to look for him. He was nowhere to be found. I started searching everywhere--in the small crawl spaces of the castle only a three-year-old could fit in, around the back of the castle, in the hidden places. But he was nowhere.
I knew he could not have gotten far without me seeing him. He had to be in the castle somewhere. My head felt like it started to spin. He had to be there.
I started to rush around, searching all the places I had already looked twice, then three times. My vision felt like it was closing in on me, as I started to panic. But in my rational mind I knew he couldn't get away. He couldn't be lost. I thought about calling Wendy and asking her to drive down and help me look. I started looking at the other parents with pleading eyes, "Have you seen my son?" I could see that some of them were starting to realize what was going on. A Muslim woman looked at me with concern.
This felt like it went on for a long time, but it really just a few minutes. I went to the last place I hadn't looked, a smaller castle that is next to the main structure. Just then Amado came tearing around the corner, smiling, and saying "Daddy, Daddy!" He was covered in mud, but I was so happy to see him. I gave him a big, big hug, as my heart dropped from my throat or head or wherever it was, back to its place.
For a few minutes I had felt what must be every parent's worst nightmare, to lose one's child. And I thought of all those who have lost their children and are still looking for them to this day.
OMG! My heart almost gave way just reading your post altho my head told me you wouldn't be blogging if Amado was still lost. What a super scary few minutes. Give Booj a giant hug from me. He was lost but now he's found...
ReplyDeleteScary moment. Maybe he should be wearing some sort of gps device and you could track him on your blackberry.
ReplyDeleteGrandma Bean
I have felt that too, those few heart-stopping moments of panic, and I have said that relieved "Thank you" to the universe when it all turned out fine.
ReplyDeleteLiving in the east end of TO, I've only been to the High Park castle once with my then 5 year old, and as cool as it was, it made me very nervous not to be able to see my child at all times.
I wonder if the designer of that fantastic structure had small children, or understood that distress of a parent who cannot lay eyes on their child in a large public space. Kinda doubt it.