I was on the phone with 1-800- PANIC yesterday...

There was a 10 minute spell yesterday where my child was out of my sight...

Every parent's worst fear, right?? Compound that with the fact that my child isn't verbal enough to tell anyone his name or his mama's name and/or phone number, and you have a mom who was about to have a serious panic attack for that brief time yesterday.

We were at the pumpkin patch with his class yesterday morning and I turned my back for a second and he took off. The pumpkin patch has a great play area where Nick and his classmates as well as about 50 other kids were playing in. I was standing in a spot where I could see Nick if he left the area or if he was within the gates of the play yard. I paused for a couple of seconds to get something out of my backpack and when I looked up, he was gone. I assumed he went into the play area, most likely into the dirty, wet tunnel I had asked him to stay out of. Because I was so sure he was in there I didn't bother to look outside the structure. Sure enough, that is the direction he took off towards. Nick ran about 400 yards away towards the area where the school buses were. Apparently he had decided enough was enough and wanted to leave. His wonderful teacher was the one who found him after someone alerted her that a little fair haired boy was near the bus area.

It literally took me an hour to stop shaking and to get the point where I could let the boy go. I grabbed onto him and didn't wish to release my grip. He got more hugs and kisses from me in about an hour than he generally gets in a couple of days. If he was verbal he most likely would have told me to stop smothering him, no lie! As soon as he was found I sat him down and looked him right in the eye and explained to him that what he did wasn't safe.. I want him to understand that most people in our world would do the right thing and try to get him returned to me if they found him but there are others who could do him harm. I know for a fact that he understands what I say to him; but certain concepts such as danger and mistrust of strangers allude him completely. All he knows is love because of how we were raising him and also due to his very sweet nature. My son is a mush box -- he gives such sweet love to those around him and is always recpetive to it being returned. I am not sure what I can do to make him understand that while the bubble he lives in is filled with love, the outside world could possibly do him harm. That is a tricky concept.. I don't wish to scare him, per se, just bring things like that to his attention so he has a healthy fear.

I am thinking of attaching an ID bracelet to him when we are in public with his name, my name and phone numbers and other pertinent information like that. At least if he is approached the person who finds him can alert me. I am not an inattentive mom by any means but that kid is sneaky AND fast as a cheetah... two very bad qualities in a child who likes to bolt, if you ask me.