The Slipperiness of Kids

Image: pregnancyhumor.com

I'm sure everyone who has internet access has seen the story of how a Gorilla was killed at the Cincinnati Zoo because a four year old got away from his mother and went into the enclosure. Of course this caused a lot of internet rage to rise up. People were very up in arms that the gorilla was shot even though, from what I read, the boy had serious injuries after they were able to rescue him. And of course, all sorts of awful things were said about the mother.

As a mother, I feel so badly for that boy's mom. Kids are crazy slippery creatures and can make a break for it the second you have your attention elsewhere. And unlike the internet hordes think, it is simply impossible to have your eyes on your kids every second.

Thankfully, I haven't ever lost Emily in a scary place like that. When she was that age, I had a harness for her because I was super paranoid about losing her. It was cute and had bat wings. Of course, there are people out there who think leases on toddlers makes them more like pets than people. I didn't give a crap what they thought though.

I do remember a story from my childhood. I was only about five or six years old. My sister is 18 months younger than I am, and was about three when we all went down to GA to visit my dad's brother and his family.

We went to Six Flags over GA while we were there. I think my aunt and uncle only had two kids at that time, and then my parents had me and my sister. So it was a pretty even adult to kid ratio. Despite this, my three year old sister wandered off. She didn't even know she was lost but it took our party a good fifteen minutes to find her.

I was little and I still remember this. I'm sure my mom remembered that until the day she died. Now that I'm a mom, I can't imagine the fear she must have felt while we were looking for my sister. Thankfully our story turned out okay.

And even though a gorilla died, the child's life was preserved. I know some people might not see it that way, but the zoo did what they had to save the child. And I'm sure that mom is beating herself up more than any nasty comment on the internet can. Her kid was hurt because of it!

So my prayers go out to that family and I hope no lasting damage happens to that little boy or his family. Parents are human too and it only take a second for a curious child to slip away.

How a Fair Ride Nearly Killed Me

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/

I was reading the Illustrated with Crappy Pictures blog today and it was about an outing they went on to a county fair. It was a sweet post about seeing animals and accidentally eating prized tomatoes. I used to go to the Ottawa County Fair every year when I was a kid, but the last time I went I had a horrifying experience.

When I would go to the fair, I would go to ride on the rides. There was usually a set price you could pay to ride unlimited rides, so I usually got that. I was home for the summer from college one year when my mom and I went to the fair.

My mom and I rode everything that day. I’m not much of a thrill junkie but the rides at the fair are usually pretty tame. I had ridden the pirate ship before so I didn't think anything of it when my mom and I got in line. I was in for the most terrifying ride of my life.

The ride started out normally enough, but the guy running the ride let it swing further and further. I really thought we were going to actually turn upside down. My mom was great and held it together for me and another girl who was on the ride alone.

Finally the terror stopped and the ride was over. I couldn't get off of their fast enough. Once we were on solid ground, my mom admitted that she had been scared too. My mom was a bit of a thrill junkie and wasn't afraid of anything. So that made me feel cold all over to think my mom thought we were going to get hurt too.

To this day, I refuse to ride on the pirate ship no matter where it’s at. Just seeing a pirate ship ride like that makes me feel anxious and scared. I’ll ride roller coasters and other scary ride, but no pirate ships. Never again!