...ME! Yesterday we decided to take advantage of all the New Year's sales and do a little shopping. I needed a couple of jackets or sweaters to get me through the winter, so we stopped at a favorite clothing store to browse. Apparently about a thousand people had the same idea, because the place was packed.
I saw a skirt I liked and was flipping through the rack to see if they had my size. When I turned around, Emma was nowhere to be found. I start walking around, calling out "Emma." I circled the store, but I couldn't find her. Although I am really kind of paranoid about child predators, that really didn't enter my mind (if you were a child predator, would you head to Coldwater Creek to see if there was any action? Probably not.) But I was concerned she might have left the store or something and was outside.
I was about to head outside when I heard someone's voice saying "Donna...Donna." So I started running around the store, trying to find the voice. Finally, I spotted a sales clerk holding Emma, who had tears running down her face. I ran up and got her and thanked the woman and apologized. I felt like every eye in the place was on me, a mom who was too busy shopping for herself to keep track of her kid. I kept telling Emma how sorry I was that I got lost. She said in her tiny voice "That's all right, Mama. I still think you're a good mom." Stab me in the heart, why don't you?!
I felt so guilty about the entire incident that I played Barbies with Emma for TWO HOURS when we got home. And I let her sleep with me last night, which is a real sacrifice for me, since Emma thrashes about at night like a wounded wolverine and also talks in her sleep.
I can't believe this is the first time in our four years together that I have lost Emma at a store. I guess that's pretty good, but I still feel badly about the whole thing.
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6 comments:
Don't beat yourself up too much, Donna. I can remember getting lost twice as a little one. It happens! Thankfully everything turned out all right!
Oh Donna, don't be hard on yourself, I think everyone has been 'lost' as a child before. Here is one that's worse, when I was just home from the hospital my mom took me to the grocery store. She did her shopping, came home, and then saw some baby toys and screamed 'Oh My Baby', she had toally forgotten she had had me and had actually gone home leaving me asleep in my stroller in the grocery store!!!
Bet that makes you feel better.
p.s. it happened again when I was 1 but that's for another day! lol
Remember the scene in the movie Stepmom with Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon when Susan's most perfect mom in the world character admits to Julia that she lost the kid once too. See it happens to everybody that's why they wrote it in the script. Even the perfect moms have bad days.
Like all have said, don't beat yourself up!
All is well and you have one huge mom heart!
Oh Donna, don't...you're not the worst mom...you are a great mom...just ask Emma, she'll tell you. Any mom who plays Barbie for 2 straight hours is top notch mom in my book.
Knowing that barbie dolls are not really your thing makes it even more precious that you spent that time with your daughter. I am a girly girl and do not know what will happen if Abbey becomes Sporty Spice, because I am clueless about teams, sports, etc. No idea how it all works.
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