Panicking just a bit

My sister-in-law took this picture--- notice the escapee..

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law invited us to go to a Springfield, Missouri minor league ball game. We were really excited to have a night out with our family and to enjoy some time with Sean’s family. Even better there was fireworks show scheduled after the ballgame and I always love watching my kids watch fireworks. Easton has a priceless reaction that makes anyone smile. He just loves fireworks. The last inning was coming to a close and we were all getting excited to conclude our evening…but then the bird came. You know that “stupid” (excuse my language) mascot that games have that dress up. I used to like those stupid mascots. I was THAT parent who was trying to encourage my kids to go meet that stupid bird. Easton was the most excited. He had his eyes glued on that stupid thing. That stupid, stupid thing. The kids (and I) were all yelling his name so we could all meet him. The stupid bird must have good hearing because he made his way in our direction. The kids were trying to meet the stupid bird and we were attempting to snap photos of them. Sean then asked me…where was Easton? I just assumed he was with the other kids waiting in line to meet the stupid bird, but turns out…he was not. He apparently lost track of the bird as it sat down to take photos and walked right past the stupid thing. By the time we realized he was gone, Sean’s brother looked up and saw the very tip of our little guy’s head as he was slipping away at the top of the stairs into the general public. The guys all ran up there to grab him and he was gone. I ran up there, thinking well he is probably just on the playground…but he was gone. We looked everywhere in our section…row…by….row. He was gone. How could this happen with 8 adults together. How could this happen when our little guy was once boxed in by everyone and now he was gone. I alerted a sheriff and she radioed all of the security with his description and his name. I realized he can’t talk. He can’t tell anyone his name. What good would that do? They shut the doors to the stadium, not allowing anyone out. We were racing against time. Soon the game would be over, the lights would be off, and the fireworks were about to begin…then a mad rush of people would be exiting the stands. Sure enough, as soon as the radio alert went across the air, the lights shut off. We couldn’t see anymore. Sean got out his flashlight and started looking in every corner. All of the guys were out looking. We were all panicking. I ran up to the grand tier so I could hopefully look down once the lights were back on. I was sick to my stomach wondering if he was scared, not knowing what to do. Would someone realize he was a lost little guy? By the time I got back down to the main level I was in a complete panic sick state. Everyone was now looking for me, as they wouldn’t let Sean claim him, because he wasn’t the one to report him missing. A sweet lady, who our family knows, found him in the stands, he was apparently trying to find his way back to us. She brought him to security and they were waiting for me to claim him. Talk about the most frightening feeling for a parent. We turned our backs for two seconds to take a picture of our other kids and he was gone. All in all we had a nice time with the family, if only we could erase that portion of the night.



If anyone has tried any bracelet or necklace thing, that they would recommend for kids for ID purposes when attending large events….that would be great if you could pass that information along. I am heading to Disneyland with the girls this fall and I am just a little nervous now.