Summer Safety!

Last Monday on Memorial Day the fam and I set out to Silver Dollar City. As we entered the gates with the crowds of other people I began to have a little bit of anxiety. You know, mommy fears started playing in my head about one of the kids getting lost or accidently separated from us. I briefly took a few minutes and went over rules. I told them to "stay with us", "hold hands", "be safe". I also told them if they got "lost" from us to find a person with a brown name tag, someone who works at SDC and ask them for help. Or they could find another mommy, a lady that had children with her, and ask her for help. I asked them if they understood and they said "yes mommy".

Well as fate would have it, my "mommy fear" became a full blown reality. We were entering our last ride of the day before we set out for ice cream and then home. All of the children were with us when we stepped to the back of the line at the American Plunge. Taking steps closer to the begining of the line Matt looks around and asks "where is Kenny?". I shockinly look around also and responded with "oh he probably got ahead of us and is up further in the line". Matt went and checked the whole line, came back and still no Kenny. I went into total emergency mode. I barked out some orders to Matt, took Belle and Matthew to their grandparents who were waiting for us down a bit from the ride and grabbed Grandpa Jetty to help us in the search. Matt went one way, Jerry went another and I another. After about 10 minutes of searching since the time we realized he was gone, I notified park security.

As I admitted to the worker that I needed help in finding my son I could feel myslef losing it. I pulled myself together and quickly understood that my emotion would not help the situation. I also couldn't deny the feelings of pure peace that immediately came over me when the situation first presented itself. I knew he was ok and that he would remember my instructions from the begining of the day and that he would ask for help. I knew we would go home that evening together with a great lesson learned.

25 long minutes of Kenny being totally gone, with the help of the SDC security and workers we found our little man. As soon as I saw him I wrapped my arms around him and looked him straight in the eye and asked "what happend?".

For anyone who knows Kenny they know that he of all my children is a "rule follower" a sweetheart and most of the time a true little angel. I guess that is why I just had to know "what happened". I believe he was in shock as were we all and really didn't answer my question, but throughout the rest of the night and for several days after we kept asking.

He told us "I wanted some lemonade and I thought mommy was getting me some". He also said "I found someone with a brown nametag and he helped me".  I highlight that because that is what made me the MOST proud. He listened to me and he remembered what to do.

So since last Monday I've been online looking at ways to keep children safe. I came to understand that just because a child is a little older doesn't mean you can "trust" that they will in fact stay with you. Kenny will be 7 in just a couple of weeks. This is a great age for curiosity and a feeling of independance. He probably had a thought, and then just went with it because he felt big enough to do so.

This summer, with your little ones and your bigger ones, please stay safe. I will from now on be using a wristband around the kids' arms that has all of our contact info in case of another emergency while we are in crowded places.These are inexpensive and durable (click on the link to check them out...many styles to choose from and other fun id things too) Also, remember the importance of talking to your children about safety and have a plan!

Most of all have a FUN filled Summer with LOTS AND LOTS of memories!