The "How Could I Lose Him?" Story

It was an ordinary day. I had misplaced my flash unit for my camera and was upset that I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere, or so I thought. Ever do that? Sometimes I panic and start to sweat when I lose something valuable or irreplaceable. Carol tells the story of being in downtown Lancaster when she was a child and getting lost from her mother. Think how her mother must have felt. Now that was over 50 years ago and you didn't fear for the life of your child as much as you do if you can't find them today. Carol kind of got paranoid about losing our children after the experience she had when she was a young child. Always had to keep close tabs on them and when you have three very active kids, it sometimes becomes a hard job. Our most memorable experience that we had as a family was maybe 30 years ago. Derek, our oldest was 9 years old while Brynn, our middle child was 6 years old, and Tad, the youngest was 4 years old. Carol and I decided to take them to the Willow Street Fair in the southern end of the Lancaster County. Lots of food, rides and games. Kids would really enjoy it. We knew it would be packed and we would have to keep close tabs on everyone so we didn't lose anyone. Well, we got there and had to park about a quarter mile away from the action because of the size of the crowd. We got everyone out of the car and I grabbed the hands of Derek and Brynn and Carol took care of Tad. We worked our way through the cars and people until we got to the food stands. I asked everyone if they were hungry yet and got a positive reply from everyone. So we headed to the stand that had the hotdogs, burgers, and fries. I pointed out which stand it was and the kids broke away and headed toward it. All of a sudden Carol yells, "Where is Tad!!" I look around and see Derek and Brynn in front of me running towards the food counter. Turn around and search the crowd for Tad. Can't find him anywhere. Holy s#*t! What happened to him already. Then all of a sudden it struck me. "You're holding him!!" I yelled to her. She had picked him up and placed him on her hip as we were standing and talking about our choice for a meal. Boy, we just about freaked out that time. At times you see parents with leases on their children. Always thought that was disgusting, but at other times realize it sure would make it easier to keep track of everyone. Can't imaging how tough a job it must be for modern families to keep track of everyone. Especially large families. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.