When I got home from work tonite, my kids' nanny told me a harrowing tale about nearly losing them while on an outing.
Mac is my older son. He is almost 8 years old, and has high-functioning autism. Mac has a long history of running away and/or disappearing in crowds. He used to actively run away from us, thinking it was an hilarious game. The more you yelled after him to come back, the funnier he thought it was, and the harder (and farther) he ran. He did this one time in a Target when he was 6. He managed to get in between some of the clothes racks, and, just like that, he was gone. I immediately had visions of him running out the front doors and into the parking lot. As the minutes ticked by, I began to get more and more panicked. The store put out the word to all the Target employees, and they finally found him crouched down in an aisle far away from where I had lost sight of him.
His mother, therapists and I worked with him for months and months. He finally quit playing the "running" game. Whether he just outgrew it, or responded to the therapy, I'm not sure.
Now, instead of running away, he will just wander. A few months ago, I was with him at the San Diego zoo. I was with both my parents and his aunt and uncle. We had stopped at a concession stand to sit and rest for a moment. Mac was looking at some animals close by. His uncle, sitting next to me, asked me a question. I turned, responded, turned back and Mac was gone. I ran down one direction, couldn't find him. I ran the other direction. I still couldn't find him. All family members were looking for him. Again, the minutes ticked by, and the panic rose and rose. Finally, Mac came back of his own accord.
We've spoken with him over and over again about the dangers of getting lost. Each time we have the conversation, he seems to get it for awhile. He'll stick close to us, he'll come back when called. But then, when our guard is down, he eventually will forget and it will happen again. Our warnings get increasingly more dire. We are all but at the point of saying, "if you get lost from us, a bad person will take you away from us, forever, and kill you." So far, nothing we've said has stuck.
Today it happened again. Our nanny had taken the boys (Mac and his 5 year old brother) to the bike path in Santa Monica to ride their razors, while she walked. It didn't take long before the boys were tired of riding slowly next to her and took off down the path. She did her best to catch up to them, yelled at them to come back, but they didn't listen. Eventually they were out of sight. She hurried down the path, panicked. She came to a three-way fork, and didn't know which way to go. She looked down one street and saw a police car and officers gathered and imagined they had been hit by a car. Many minutes passed, and they eventually returned down the path, big smiles on both their faces. Our nanny has been with us since Mac was 3 months old, and she's seen pretty much everything he can dish out. She said she had never been so scared. She told the boys that she would no longer take them out to ride razors because of what they did.
I spoke with Mac about what happened tonite. He recognized that he had made the nanny extremely scared and angry. He said that he had had a "sad day" because of what happened. I once again reminded him that his mommy and daddy (and nanny) loved him, that it was our job to protect him, and that if we didn't know where he was we couldn't protect him. He seemed to understand, but will it stick?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Flickr Fav August 28, 2010
Spent the day at Disneyland with the boys and the Other. All-in-all we had a pretty great time. The weather cooled down to a nice 73 degrees, and there was a cloud layer most of the day. Mac went on all the "big kid" rides (Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Mtn. Railroad) and loved them. I rode Space Mtn. with him and nearly lost my lunch - felt ill for about an hour afterward. Mac, on the other hand, was ready to get right back on at the end of the ride.
Today's Flickr Fav photo is not from Disneyland, but it sure looks like a Disney train.
Today's Flickr Fav photo is not from Disneyland, but it sure looks like a Disney train.
Friday, August 27, 2010
The High Violets - Sun Baby
I'm listening to Sun Baby by The High Violets right now. They've got a real nice Dandy Warhols vibe. I love Kaitlyn Ni Donovan's vocals. I could fall in love with her in about 2 seconds. And she's from Portland, Oregon, how cool is that? The video is pretty weak - this song deserves a lot better.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Just got back from seeing this tonite at the Hollywood Arclight. It was pure awesome. Just sweet, delicious candy for the eyes and ears. Where is my Ramona Flowers?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Walking Dead
Over the last year or so I've been reading The Walking Dead graphic novel series. Its got two of my favorite subjects - a post-apocalyptic world, and zombies, so I'm excited they're turning this into a series. It will air on AMC, which has a pretty good track record with original dramatic programming so far (Mad Men, Breaking Bad). The show will be be directed by Frank Darabont who directed one of my favorite movies, the Shawshank Redemption. All in all, it sound pretty promising, and the trailer definitely has me planning on tuning in.
Most Allergic Woman in Britain
http://www.indiavision.com/news/article/international/94559/
Sometimes I feel like my seven year old Mac is allergic to everything (eggs, dairy, nuts - plus environmental allergies), but things could definitely be worse.
Sometimes I feel like my seven year old Mac is allergic to everything (eggs, dairy, nuts - plus environmental allergies), but things could definitely be worse.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Other
What do I call my soon-to-be-ex-wife? Is there a word for the person you're in the process of divorcing (other than a#@hole or b*tch)? We're separated - is she my separatee? She used to be my Significant Other; I guess I'll just call her "the Other."
Monday, August 23, 2010
Cee-Lo video
A song hasn't put a smile on my face like this in a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc
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