Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Our Growing Family

Looking at the little baby in my arms I marveled at the fact that I actually had a daughter. So tiny and helpless and ours to love and care for. LV looked as proud and thrilled as he had when Sailor had been born. We prepared to go home and I couldn't wait to tell Mom that she had a grandaughter.

After I was settled in bed at home LV went to my parents to bring Sailor home and share our happy news. Mom came home with them and worked around the kitchen until our hired girl arrived several hours later. I wasn't disappointed at her excitement of having a grandaughter.

Sailor admired the baby but was much more impressed with her pacifier than anything else. I realized he must not have forgotten how much he used to like his own pacifier before I had weaned him from it.

Not long after my six weeks of of relaxing and enjoying our new baby was up LV had to go help someone with their hay. my day was going well, I had put Sailor down for a nap in his toddler bed and was taking care of the baby. After she was asleep I placed her in her crib and went to get some other things done. I peeped in Sailors bed on my way to the kitchen and was horrified to find it empty.

I looked through the house but there was no sign of him anywhere. I noticed the back door was slightly ajar and my heart sank. I ran outside calling his name. I looked for him in the barn, in our machine shed, and remembered how he loves playing with ears of corn so I checked the corn crib but there was no sign of a little boy anywhere.

I ran the half mile to where our mailbox was thinking he may have wanted to go fetch the mail. He always enjoyed going with me. I couldn't think of anywhere else to look except all our fields and the woods and felt helpless at how I was supposed to find him by myself, especially with a baby that would wake up and need me any minute.

I ran to our phone shanty and left a message on my parents voice mail and then called one of our local taxi drivers and told him to go over and tell them to check their phone. I checked the baby and then kept searching and calling for Sailor. My brothers were there to help before long and we continued looking.

I went into our hayloft and called again and then happened to spot the corner of Sailors favorite blue blanket on top of a stack of hay. I climbed up and found him curled up, sleeping, with the baby's pacifier in his mouth. I was so relieved to have found him safe and sound, and a little amazed how at two his conscience had already made him seek a hiding place to enjoy a forbidden object.

22 comments:

  1. How scary. It is amazing that he understood to hide with it. :)Children are so amazing and dear.

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  2. That would be VERY SCARY! Especially in today's word. So glad that you found him - safe & sound a sleep. AWW!

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  3. Oh me, we have a quiver full and each is a special blessing from God, Children are what keep us going and keep us young. have a blessed day.

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  4. Oh my, I know how bad a child being out of sight even for a short time feels. I'm so glad it was just a little side-step with his sister's pacifier. *giggles* Have a great day!

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  5. My goodness!~~~ You had me holding my breath as I read about you searching but when you found him I had to laugh. Bless his sweet little heart. I'm sure the picture of him in the hay with his blanket and the baby's pacifier will always be embedded in your mind.

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  6. I've had a couple of moments like that! My, how scary! I remember when my son first deliberately told a lie. I caught him at it and he immediately started crying and was sorry. He was only around 3 years old. Thankfully, having caught him at it the first time, he rarely lies.

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  7. Whew! It is amazing how gigantic the world suddenly feels when a little one disappears, even for a short while.

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  8. Another amazing memoir.

    Thank you for sharing it with your readers. God bless you ...Marsha

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  9. Yikes scary...

    But oh sigh, isn't it awful... How guilt, is so easily instilled in us? He knew he *wasn't supposed to* have a pacifier. So he had to hide.

    -sigh-

    I dislike guilt. I more then dislike guilt. I loath it.

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  10. I know from experience how frightening it is to not be able to locate a little one. When our second son, Barry was about 2 1/2 I suddenly couldn't find him anywhere. He was the youngest of our (then) 4 children and we were living in a 6 room apartment in NEW YORK CITY !!

    My husband and I were in a panic that he might have somehow unlocked the door and was roaming around in the big city. After about 15 to 20 minutes of searching the whole apartment, every closet etc., we finally found him sound asleep curled up in the kneehold space of his Daddy's desk. He had crawled in there and pulled the chair in behind him. It was the last place we thought to look and we were SO relieved to find him safe and sound.

    Your story about Sailor's adventure was so cute. I could just picture him asleep in the hay.

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  11. Oh my, you must have been scared to death! I can't even imagine. So glad it turned out well - I was on the edge of my seat through your whole post...LOL Did he leave the pacifier alone after that?

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  12. It reminds me of the nursery rhyme.."Little boy blue, come blow your horn. The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn. But where is the little boy who looks after the sheep? Under the haystack,fast asleep."
    But...what a frightening time for Mama! I'm glad you found him safe!

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  13. You probably were so relieved to have found him safe & sound that you hugged & kissed him and forgot about him taking his sister's dummy (what South Africans call pacifiers).

    How I wish my son would've used a dummy with all of his colic, but he kept spitting it out.....and used 'me' instead. So, I was his dummy. LOL

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  14. I know that you must have been so frightened. And so relieved when you found him. I wouldn't have known which to do, laugh or cry.

    I so enjoy reading your story.
    Regina

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  15. I have to admit, I was worried about what Magnolia Tea would say in response to this post, LOL! Being my mother and knowing I ran around every corner I found when I was young and rambunctious. Yes I was a runner and a hider! And now that I have two daughters of my own, I also have a runner to keep up with. This post is so scary and cute at the same time. Thank you for sharing so much of your life with everyone!! God bless!

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  16. What a scary thing.Glad that all turned out well.
    My youngest daughter came up missing between school and our house 3 blocks away one year. I was frantic when all the other kids came in and she was not with them. She was in kindergarden at the time. I went to the school and they had seen her leave but did not have any idea where she would have gone. I went home and as I picked up the phone to call the police I happened to see the pom pom on her hat bobbing up and down behind the snow drift coming across the field. When she got home she told me she took a short cut. Yup she turned left and went up into town, in the front door of the department store and out their back door, and down the street, then down Hank's Hill and through the field.

    I did not know rather I should laugh or cry at that.
    She is now 38 and has 3 kids of her own. And her youngest did the same to them a few years ago.

    Thank you for visiting my Christmas blog and leaving the wonderful comment. I enjopy doing the research for it. Just started the blog a few months ago. Hope to do more after I get College Granduation over for my Granddaughter.

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  17. My heart was in my throat as I read your post. How horribly terrifying! Thank God you found your son safe and sound. I know you probably didn't forget that feeling for a long time afterwards. Blessings, Joanne

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  18. My heart was pounding .. having 'misplaced' a child once and had another walk away from my side. Scary, times.

    I even dreamt I couldn't remember where I put the baby after I misplaced the first one... in his stroller at the end of an aisle as I was looking at bolts of cloth ... I turned the corner and kept looking, then crossed the aisle ...meanwhile, the sleeping baby was now two rows and one aisle away! Some lady, also shopping, suddenly said, "Oh my! There's a baby here!" I felt like a BAD mama, even though he was really pretty close by and it made sense to park the stroller since the rows were tight .. but still .. I forgot he was with me and I KNEW I forgot!

    It doesn't take long for kids to misbehave, does it!?

    Something you'll never forget and he'll never remember! LOL!!!

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  19. How scary! It's amazing how much even a 2 year old understands.

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  20. Gosh you had me scared!
    So glad Sailor was found happy and well and enjoying one of his 'forgotten' pleasures.
    Their little minds are incredible.
    Karen

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  21. Do you find yourself writing/typing fast when the subject is an emergency? I find myself reading as fast as I can to get to the end... nervous, but not too much so since I've seen pictures of him healthy and happy in future posts... on of the pleasures of reading about 4 years behind! BUT! I'm catching up!
    :)
    Helen

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  22. I'm reading six years behind, and I'm trying to catch up too:-). LOL. Your blog is very well written and extremely enjoyable. Thank you for writing.

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.