How To Lose A Grandson In Ten Seconds Or Less...

I swear...I only took my eyes off him for the time it would take me to count the fingers on his three year old hands.


Grant and I were in the library after breakfast with Santa at a local restaurant. We played with a train set that had wooden tracks running over trestles, ending at a turn table that could send our trains off in many directions. Then, he set up pots and pans on a child sized stove and pretended to make us pancakes and fresh tea (with imaginary lemon juice in it). He and "Papa" were really having a blast.


As I was concentrating on putting a small barnyard puzzle that we had dumped out on the library floor back together I glanced up and Grant was gone. I looked over at the toddler table where he and I had been playing "Dora The Explorer" computer games moments before. No sight of his silky blonde hair behind any of the tables four monitor screens. Could he have wandered off to the adjacent story time area? Nope not there either. By this time, my sixty four year old heart had begun to rise up into my turkey neck like throat.


While scanning all of the library I could see and at this point not really caring about being quiet, I loudly called out his name. No answer. Grant had simply vanished.


Spotting a library worker to my left, I asked in a shaky voice,"Did you see a little boy with blonde hair go by here?!" She hadn't. Neither had either of the two librarians stationed at the main desk near the sliding, automatic front doors. I charged out into the cold parking lot calling Grant's name and praying that for some crazy reason he had decided to try and get back in our small SUV...nothing. Looking at cars pulling out of and around the parking area, my mind was absolutely filled with bad thoughts. What would his parents think? How can you lose a grandchild? Please, please God, take me but not my beautiful grandson.


Charging back toward the library door I gasped "I think we should call the police" to one of the librarians who had followed me outside. I literally could not breathe.


As we rushed inside "Drew" (the librarian and also a friend I knew well from golfing) said "Bill, lets check the ladies room just for the heck of it". I had already searched the men's room twice. Drew knocked loudly on the women's room door. "Anyone in there?!!" he yelled in a deep voice then slowly pushed it open. A little blue eye peeked out from a crack in one of the stalls. Two slim ankles draped in Optimus Prime underwear were visible beneath the locked stall. "Nahh, nahhh...you can't get me!!!" a little boys voice sang out.


In the hall leading to the rest room, I doubled over with relief, shaking and resting my hands on my knees. There were tears in my eyes as one of the female library employees offered me a fine, firm hug which I desperately needed. "Oh God" I moaned "I'm so thankful he is safe...even if I do want to kill him". If you have ever had a child wander off for any length of time you will know exactly what I was feeling.


After finally opening the door and seeing all of the concerned faces looking at him I think Grant sensed something was possibly wrong. Especially when grandpa with the leaky eyeballs wrapped his arms around him and begged him to never, ever take off by himself again without telling Papa first. He had tears in his eyes too as he made me wipe his butt (remember the underwear draped ankles?) and help him pull up his pants before we left the toilet. I thanked the librarians profusely as Grant and I donned our warm winter coats and headed out toward the safety of home.


Be grateful for each and every day with them because children really do grow up fast and as you have read...they can get lost even faster.