Many years ago, my husband and I had taken some leave from the RAAF to holiday back in WA with my family. We had the simple task of babysitting a 3-year-old boy. His mother, my sister, was having some medical tests done. Now you would think, two ADF personnel could handle one small boy. Wrong !!!
We had taken him for ice cream on the foreshore before going into the nearby shopping centre for a look around. We walked past the toys where he showed a great deal of interest. I had been holding his hand till he sat on the floor looking at a big red fire truck with considerable interest. I was looking at other toys for his older sister’s birthday, while Paul looked elsewhere.
After 10 minutes or so, I looked at the time and selected my purchase, ready to go and pick up my sister. Horrified, I turned to find our adventurous 3-year-old had vanished.
I joined Paul to see if he was with him, no luck. Panicking we both left in opposite directions to look for him. We searched the store with no luck. We advised the help desk, who put out an announcement. We scanned the mall outside and Paul raced out to the parking area in case he’d strayed outside. I did another run around the store. We both dreaded the task of telling my sister we had lost her son. We even tossed a coin to see who got the scary task of telling her.
Not to be beaten, the store manager and I commenced a systematic search of the store, reasoning that he could not have gone far in such a short timeframe. He had to be exploring somewhere! We even saw other customers looking inside kennels, behind displays and any other place a little boy could hide. After all, his favorite game was hide and seek, he was good at that.
With an amused look on her face, another customer pointed out some stock lying on the floor in two or three spots. We followed this trail of chaos. Perhaps he had been rearranging things? No, the offender was a rather precocious little girl.
Then the call came over the loudspeakers, “would the parents of a little blond boy in a blue track suit, approximately 3 to 4 years old, please come to the Garden Centre”.
A ray of hope!
We approached the garden centre where a rather amused shop assistant pointed out a little boy, covered in potting mix, happily pulling plants out of their pots and carefully placing them into the ornamental pond.
I was overcome with a sense of relief that he was safe and well, but was horrified at the state of him, and the destroyed displays. Very embarrassed, we offered to pay for any damages and explained our situation.
We decided to buy him a new outfit and to race into the nearest public loo to clean him up before returning him to his mum.
Alas, she caught us! She had finished early and was walking towards the coffee lounge where we had arranged to meet.
Fortunately, she saw the funny side of the situation.
Heather Hartland
August 2024
We had taken him for ice cream on the foreshore before going into the nearby shopping centre for a look around. We walked past the toys where he showed a great deal of interest. I had been holding his hand till he sat on the floor looking at a big red fire truck with considerable interest. I was looking at other toys for his older sister’s birthday, while Paul looked elsewhere.
After 10 minutes or so, I looked at the time and selected my purchase, ready to go and pick up my sister. Horrified, I turned to find our adventurous 3-year-old had vanished.
I joined Paul to see if he was with him, no luck. Panicking we both left in opposite directions to look for him. We searched the store with no luck. We advised the help desk, who put out an announcement. We scanned the mall outside and Paul raced out to the parking area in case he’d strayed outside. I did another run around the store. We both dreaded the task of telling my sister we had lost her son. We even tossed a coin to see who got the scary task of telling her.
Not to be beaten, the store manager and I commenced a systematic search of the store, reasoning that he could not have gone far in such a short timeframe. He had to be exploring somewhere! We even saw other customers looking inside kennels, behind displays and any other place a little boy could hide. After all, his favorite game was hide and seek, he was good at that.
With an amused look on her face, another customer pointed out some stock lying on the floor in two or three spots. We followed this trail of chaos. Perhaps he had been rearranging things? No, the offender was a rather precocious little girl.
Then the call came over the loudspeakers, “would the parents of a little blond boy in a blue track suit, approximately 3 to 4 years old, please come to the Garden Centre”.
A ray of hope!
We approached the garden centre where a rather amused shop assistant pointed out a little boy, covered in potting mix, happily pulling plants out of their pots and carefully placing them into the ornamental pond.
I was overcome with a sense of relief that he was safe and well, but was horrified at the state of him, and the destroyed displays. Very embarrassed, we offered to pay for any damages and explained our situation.
We decided to buy him a new outfit and to race into the nearest public loo to clean him up before returning him to his mum.
Alas, she caught us! She had finished early and was walking towards the coffee lounge where we had arranged to meet.
Fortunately, she saw the funny side of the situation.
Heather Hartland
August 2024
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