The house was blissfully silent. The baby was napping in his room and 3 year old Xander had finally settled onto the floor with his blanket to catch up on the shenanigans of Toopy and Binoo. Taking advantage of the calmness, I decided to respond to some of the days messages. I hit send on my last email and raised my eyes to confirm that Xan was finally asleep but all I could see was his blanket in a heap on the floor.
I muted the t.v. and listened for his voice, but heard nothing.
Where is he? How did he move without me hearing?
The blissful silence threatened to suffocate me as I paced down the hallway and snapped his bedroom light on.
Empty.
My heart felt like it was turbocharged. I sped into the kitchen where I saw that the door leading into the garage was wide open and idly moving to and fro, oblivious to the fact that my baby was missing.
I lept down the stairs and threw myself into the garage. My eyes dropped to the concrete floor where I followed a set of little boot prints through a small puddle and out through the second open door into the backyard. But there were two sets of prints here, one was Xander’s and one canine. I found the sight of the paw prints comforting, but only in the slightest. Xander’s eloping is one of the reasons we got Vito, but he is only a puppy himself with little more than basic training yet.
I shook the what-ifs from my mind and I slid onto the snow covered patio stones in my slippers. There, at the far end of the yard, was Xander. He was wearing his boots on the wrong feet, had no jacket on, and he was licking the snow off of the picnic table. Vito stood at his side.
My heart filled as my eyes emptied and I approached Xander. I steadied my voice, as fearful yelling means nothing to him, and I reminded him that we don’t leave the house without Mom or Dad. He kept his eyes on the picnic table and said “Yes. Snowing. Favorite snowing, Mama.” and I grabbed his little hands in mine and pulled him in for a bear hug as relief and guilt fought over who would consume me.
Needless to say Vito got some extra goodies that night, after we went to the hardware store and bought new locks for every door and window in this house. He’ll never get out alone again. Now if we could find a way to keep guilt and uncertainty in my own parenting skills out, we would be golden.
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I am sharing this unfortunately-true 500 word story with the peeps over at Yeah Write!
Thankfully this whole ordeal only lasted a few short minutes. I am also incredibly thankful that he put his boots on (thank God for rituals and routines!!) and that we are going through a warm spell right now.Not very long ago it was -40 and 5 minutes in that mess without a jacket would have given our story a very different ending. And if you are interested in reading more about Xan and why he do what he do, he has his own page which you can find at the top of this one.
Now click that beautiful green badge and head over to read the rest of this week’s entries at everybody’s favorite place for writer’s who blog and bloggers who write. You can come back on Thursday and vote for your 5 favorites! Sounds fun, right? It is. Now get clickin’.
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Ohhh yeah. Sam only very recently stopped leaving without permission. The locks did work for several years, but he can thwart every. damned. one. of ours now.
You know I thought of you when this happened, Jessie? I remembered the story where Sam ran out of the hospital (Doctor’s office?). I’m glad Sam has stopped leaving now. It’s the scariest thing I’ve experienced so far.
thank goodness he did not go far,i can just imagine how scared you were for a few min,have a safe and happy sunday!!!
Definitely. Thankfully our yard is surrounded by 6′ tall wooden fencing and both gates are very heavy and bolted. But what if we hadn’t shut a gate properly? What if what if what if… it’s a scary thought. But the biggest thing I am thankful for is Vito. He’s an awesome dog.
Whew. You might start training Vito to a “Where’s Xan?” command, so he’ll eventually go find the kiddo when needed. I can tell you how to do it if you want to email me. I know Vito’s still a baby but it’s not too soon to start. Big hug!
Scary story; good dog! I know that feeling of relief and guilt mixing together. Glad everything was OK.
So glad this was a minor mishap in the end. This is every parent’s nightmare and has to be way worse for you. Three cheers for Vito (and for a momma who kept her cool in front of the kiddo!)
Whew, I can only imagine the panic you felt!
It’s so hard for mothers to stop their minds from running to worse case scenarios, and then loading up with undeserved guilt. He’s safe, and that’s all that matters in the end.
It’s incredible how minutes like that can feel like forever. I’m glad all ended well, and that you have such a protective pooch!
Scary scary minutes. I know Vito is just a puppy, but you can see he’s going to be a big part of Xander’s life.
Oh, good doggie… And I’m glad things turned out OK. I hope the locks work for a good long while. ((( HUG )))
Yikes! What a frightening experience!
I know that panic. Terrifying is an understatement. Glad all ended well.
That is the scariest thing. Glad you found him, and glad you have that dog to keep him company!
As a parent, I know exactly how you must have felt during that short – but seemingly long – period when you couldn’t find your son. I’m glad he’s safe, and good thinking on the locks. . .
Oh how scary and yay Vito. What an awesome dog you have!
so stressful! i had a moment like that myself with my youngest son. it completely freaked me out. good vito..
Oh my … my heart stopped and I am only an internet bystander! You poor thing – terrifying! But jeez that little bug is cute! Am sending you a hug. Me thinks you need a Vito for that Vito!
I know you had the bejeesus scared out of you and I’m so happy that Xander was okay but that is seriously the cutest picture of both of the culprits!
One of the scariest feelings any parent can experience. I’m so glad Xander is OK. And by the way, I LOVE Vito. Great pic!
I could feel your terror, Dawn. Scary doesn’t even summarize! So relieved all turned out well in the end and what. A. Picture!
That is still one of the scariest things a parent faces. Your 500 captured its essence.
WG
Oh, sigh of relief! I was terrified. Give Vito a treat for me too.
I’d be scared out of my mind. So glad it ended well.
One of the few times that a few minutes can feel like forever. Happy for the happy ending, and for this phrase that I will drill into my head the next time my little G pulls her own disappearing stunt: “fearful yelling means nothing to him.”
Oh, my heart would’ve dropped down to my ankles if that happened to me! It sounds like you have a great plan, and your dog is adorable.