Lost
5:32 PM - Posted by Bobbi - 0 comments
Today we went to the mall down in Rockford - just for a change of pace. It's larger than the Janesville Mall, which is the one we usually visit. 

We wandered through the packed building, musing why it was so busy (we had forgotten that Valentine's Day is tomorrow) and stopped for a snack of pretzels. The boys played at the indoor play area. At 5:20, it was time to go.

Balin complained he was thirsty so I took him to the bathrooms, thinking there was a drinking fountain over there as well. Robinson followed me over, reminding me that we had entered through the Sears.

"Where's Arthur?" I asked, noting that he wasn't right behind Robinson.

"I don't know," he answered, and went back to check the play area.

Arthur wasn't there. 

He wasn't there.

The next few minutes were spent frantically searching the area. Robinson found mall security. I offered up the picture I keep in my wallet. The security guard asked if there were any favorite store he might go into. I tried to keep calm, to fight the worry that was building up inside of me. My intuition told me it would be alright, that he wasn't in any danger, but as the minutes ticked by and the police were called, it became harder and harder to fight back the tears.

This happens to other people, I thought, not to me.

But it had happened - was happening and never had I felt so out of control. Other parents looked our way, their eyes full of pity. I didn't want their pity. I wanted my boy.

Then the text came: Found him! 

Several minutes later, a teary-eyed Arthur and Robinson were at my side. Part of me wanted to cry, another part wanted to demand why he didn't ask another mom with kids of help like he'd been taught, and another part of me wanted to hold him. 

So I held him. 

Later that night, as we walked into a packed Steak n' Shake, Arthur sobbed, "I thought you left me."

"No," I reassured him, "we would never leave you. We would always come looking for you."

Blessed be.


Birthday Fun
9:32 AM - Posted by Bobbi - 0 comments
As many of my readers may or may not know, my aunt and I share a birthday. (Interestingly enough, my great-uncle does as well, but he has already passed so he doesn't get to share in the festivities.)

Last year we explored Cedarburg. This year, we decided upon a day trip to Watertown since it was between the farm and Beloit and neither of us had been there recently just to wander around.

Turns out, while it isn't a tourist mecca like Cedarburg, Watertown does have its own charm. There are two bakeries (one of which we actually visited and bought ourselves a cream puff to share) and a few thrift stores, including a pretty nice St. Vincent de Paul's, but no quilt stores, which is just about the only reason to go somewhere, right? Maybe the Mac N Cheese Contest one of the local businesses was putting on would make up for it!

Gloria treated for lunch as Mullen's, a place that's been in business since 1932. Grandma used to take Gloria there for ice cream and may have also taken me and my sisters, though I couldn't remember if I had ever been there before. We enjoyed extra thick chocolate malts and decided to bring the boys back this summer.

We exchanged gifts before saying goodbye. I hand-stitched yo-yos that Grandma had made into a pillow. She nearly cried when she saw it. Gloria gave me $25 in spending money which I promptly used to buy Robinson a couple sets of cocktail glasses. They were so cool I couldn't resist.

The rest of the week was spent celebrating with my students  who brought a cake and lots of food. Even the boys were invited to attend the feast (and they were excited because for some reason they really love going to the parties at my office).

We went to sushi the night of my birthday at Zen, the new sushi place downtown. The boys tried strawberry sushi and when we got home we made little R2-D2 desserts out of bananas. They were so excited to play Star Wars games and play with the light up balloons!

A couple of people from Pilates also gave me presents: Miriam gave me a tiara (which I wore the entire time I worked out) and Kinya gave me a Culver's gift card, a new water bottle, and fun socks to wear at Pilates. My family sent gift cards to Michael's and Jo-Ann's and Blythe even bought me a new quilt book I wanted and a gift certificate to my quilt store downtown.

All in all, it was a good birthday. I may be another year older, but I sure don't feel like I am!

Blessed be.