I've been managing to get out running at night about 3-4 times a week lately. Joel is so supportive and watches the girls for me so I can get some personal time in and let my mind zone out for a bit. Running around my neighborhood is pretty fun despite some killer hills and one of the my favorite things about it is the people watching. Hey, I wasn't an anthropology major for nothin'!! I am a slow jogger so it gives me a chance to see all sorts of people doing all sorts of things. Some neighbors are more friendly looking than others and I'm beginning to recognize faces as I go along. There are two particular kids I see quite regularly and they can't be more than 7 and 5. The little girl, being the older one, is usually toting her little brother along on some sort of wheeled vehicle. Sometimes it's a bicycle, sometimes a plastic trike-car, and other times a little skateboard. They look sort of disheveled most of the time but whereas I used to pass judgement on how they looked, I now realize my own daughter looks pretty roughed-up about 80% of the time we're in public.
Tonight as I was nearing mile two and close to a heart attack I saw the little boy walking by himself about 3/4 mile away from his house. He had on jeans, no shirt, a jacket and was dragging a small suitcase behind him. As I approached he looked slightly panicked. I know I should have stopped him and asked where he was going but I didn't. I can only imagine his response would be, "I'm running away." How many times did I pack my bag when I was little with all the stuffed animals I could find? Probably at least 10.
There could be any number of reasons why he was walking down that road by himself with a suitcase - maybe he had a sleepover and was on his way home, maybe he was delivering something to a neighbor... I feel like I should have stopped.
I can only imagine how busy his mom must be to not worry about her little boy wandering down the road by himself as random strangers jog and drive passed. Maybe she was worried, maybe she was on her way to start looking for him...
2 comments:
Once when Zach was about 6 his Aunt Marianne called me and asked how long he could stay. Huh? He had walked to her house and I didn't even know it.
ps. Zach, my word verification is efruity. That is perfect! Anyone with technology email skills like mine probably IS e-fruity!
that is a little scary. I'm affraid jacey is only a week or two away from running away. :)
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