Need to cite someone””a friend, a celebrity, yourself””for questionable mothering? Feel free to post pictures, videos or stories here.
Today’s ticket goes out to Taylor Wells, a regular Momonomics.com contributor and author of Vitacost.com’s Best Life Ever blog, who became “one of those moms” and caused a Code Yellow at Target.
Lost at Target
Quote of the day:
“It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too.”
~ Joyce Maynard
Yesterday I was at Target with my 5 year-old-son, 8-year-old daughter, and her 8-year-old friend.
I took “˜em as a surprise adventure after school. I’d planned on taking them hiking but it was raining so we scooted to Target where I said they could pick out something from the dollar section (their fave!) and get a cinnamon pretzel. They were thrilled.
We all decided to check out the food section as well because we needed cereal. “Sure, pick something out,” I smiled. Then I noticed the Easter aisle was next to the snax and turned the corner to take a quick peek while the three musketeers negotiated whether to get Smart Food or Lays.
A moment.
It only takes a moment.
I returned to the snack aisle a few seconds later and they were . . . Gone.
Gone!
All my yoga, all my breathing, all my spiritual work…went right out the window. Hey, I’m human just like you and I call a spade a spade. I’m not ever gonna lie to you and say I’m perfect because I ain’t, Super-moms! No one is. We all doin’ our best with breath in each moment.
But I digress.
They were gone. And I panicked. I ran through the aisles calling their names. Where WERE they?! Where could they go in five seconds?!
I grabbed the closest Target employee (by the collar–lol–just kidding) and told her what was goin on. She didn’t skip a beat and yelled into her walkie talkie, “CODE YELLOW!”
Now if I weren’t already freaking out, NOW I was.
“What were they wearing?” she asked.
I had no idea. I couldn’t think.
Thankfully I remembered their names and their hair color.
After the longest five seconds of my life, she said the four most beautiful words, “They’re at the pharmacy.”
“The pharmacy?! That’s on the other end of the store!” I exclaimed.
We both sprinted to the pharmacy. I exaggerate not.
And there they were.
OMG. I grabbed those three kids and gave “˜em the biggest hug.
“Where WERE you?” I asked, still shaking.
“We went to the girls’ section to look at the tee shirts,” Sagey, age 8, explained.
I told “˜em what any Super-mom would about safety while in public places, and I apologized. I took one hundred percent responsibility for the Target debacle. Because it was, in fact, my responsibility. It don’t matter if I was lookin’ at Easter stuff for my kids. It don’t matter if it was five seconds. A moment is all it takes.
I’m so grateful my kids are safe and well and happy. And that the Universe was so kind with this lesson.
Super-mom heard it. Lived it. Got it. Thank you, Universe.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
Taylor Wells, M.A., M.Ed., RYT, owns Prana Power Yoga, Inc., Super-mom.com and Prana Super-mom Consulting. She is also a Boston Herald columnist and blogger, United Nations Yoga Peace Ambassador, activist,and happy Super-mom of 5 kids. She is the author of the “Best Life Ever” blog at Vitacost.com.