When I was in my last trimester of pregnancy ever, my son Micah decided that he should be an Olympic sprinter. Since we did not have a track--or room enough for him to get in his sprinting practice, he put in his best practices when we were away from home.
One day, as Mark, the kids, and I were passing the mall, I needed to buy some pregnancy clothes. The mall we were passing was an outdoor mall, and it was easy to run in and out of stores. Mark decided to take the kids to Cold Stone for some ice cream while they waiting.
When I left Mark with the 3 kids at Cold Stone, I began to take out the stroller. Mark shook his head, "I don't need it--it will just get in the way. I'll carry Micah." BIG MISTAKE.
Trying to make him see reason, I told him, "Micah likes to run. I keep him strapped in a 5 point harness at all times when I'm out in public." You'd think that he would listen considering I am with the kids all day long.
"I'm not pregnant-I don't need it. How fast can a 2 year old run anyway?"
I shrugged, knowing that he was just asking for trouble. Then I left. Here's what happened next as told to me by both Elena and Mark:
Cold Stone had the door propped open for fresh air. The side wall of the store was lined with windows, so you can see a panoramic view of the mall. Between Cold Stone and the next store was a street leading to a small neighborhood. Mark sat the 3 kids at a table and told Elena to watch Micah. (She was about 7 1/2 at the time). He then went to order ice cream. Just as he pulled out his wallet to pay, he turned towards the windowed wall and saw Micah running and laughing and Elena chasing him-outside. About a second after he turned around, Micah looked back at Elena and then dove into bushes that were separating the sidewalk from the street and proceeded to run as fast as possible down the middle of the street toward the neighborhood. When Micah cut through the bushes, Elena stopped and stared at him with her mouth dropped open.
At this point, Mark dropped his wallet and keys on the counter and took off running. He ran out of the side door, hopped the bushes, and then ran after Micah down the middle of the street. He said that he was running as fast as he could to catch up to him. Then, when he grabbed him, Micah giggled and had that look in his eyes--that look that said that he loved this game!
When I returned to the store, Mark was holding Micah in his lap with an unusually tight grip.
"How'd it go?" I asked. It looked like he had it all under control.
"Don't ask."
He never questioned why I used a stroller again.
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