Bad Mom and Heavenly Protection

Have to write about my scare of the day. George and Spencer were playing out back "building a space ship" according to George. Spencer was helping with the decor by piling dead grass on the "wings". George came inside and I continued to check on Spencer every few minutes. Our back has been broken for a few weeks. I propped it up to keep the kiddos corralled, but a big wind storm blew it over.

At one point I couldn't see Spencer and as George was going outside, I asked him to check. He went the other direction and I went out the back door to find Spencer. That's when I heard the first honk. I ran around the pool, hoping to see Spencer near where I had last spotted him running with his big Tonka dump truck. No Spencer. Then I hear the second honk. I run around the house to see a car in the middle of the road, Spencer crawling onto the curb, my neighbor picking him up and his dump truck stuck under a parked truck on the other side of the road.

My heart racing, I ran to grab him (thank goodness for my neighbor), waved a thank you to the lady in the car and went to retrieve the dump truck. That's when the police officer approached me.

"Had an escapee?"

I explained that I he had been in the backyard and I had just seen him back there a couple of minutes ago. The officer asked for my I.D. and for Spencer's name. I gave him both and told him that I really had seen him in the backyard two minutes ago.

"I think it was more than two minutes," he said. And he was probably right. Spencer was heading away from the open gate the last I saw him, I was busy making dinner and didn't think he was going to pass the blown down fence on the other side. I may have been three or four minutes. But it could have been the last three or four minutes of my little buddy's life.

I cried for the next half hour until Adam got home. The first thing he did was screw the blown down fence into place. It won't open now, but at least I won't have to worry when the kids are out back. I was just waiting for CPS to knock on my door. I am so thankful that Spencer was protected. And not just this time. This is his fourth time venturing out in the road, always when I have stopped watching him for more than a minute. I think today was Heavenly Father saying "Okay, I've warned you, now the police have warned you. Get it right or it might not work out so well next time. You're not being a very good steward. Now, stop cooking and watch out for your kid!"

No excuses. I will do better - anticipate the worst and hope for the best. My kids might never see the front yard again.