My stroller

My childhood in 1980's rural Utah was safe. I don't remember having any rules other than, "come home for dinner." Chad and I played in ditches, rode our bikes, and ran through fields to our hearts content.

America in 2008 doesn't seem safe at all. I regularly receive e-mails with terrible stories of how children are being exploited, abused, and well much, much worse.

In our little neighborhood, there is some type of safety net. I can see our courtyard, and playground right out my window. I can pretty much hear every noise the kids make out there too. I also have great neighbors who look after each other, none of us would let another child fall off of the climbing playground toys or go unswung if we could help it.

Just this past Saturday I noticed that my stroller was missing, and strangely, my first reaction was, "Someone stole my stroller!"

I have a squirrels memory, if I lose something it really is because the kids took it, and it's gone forever. I do run out of gas about once a year, but that's a different matter altogether. So I started retracing my steps.

I remember using the double stroller at the park just a few days ago, we used it at Joe's school performance, yep I had it then. I went on a walk the other day, it was lovely I remember. Where could it have gone?

I used it at Dalton's year end review at his school, parked it behind the van so I could easily put it in the trunk, unloaded the girls to their car seats, yep I remember that. But wait, the van was full of groceries, and I don't remember moving them, or crushing them... did I really leave my nice double stroller behind the van in the middle of the parking area across from Dalton's school? Was I really so wrapped up in the fact that I had a pull through parking spot that I drove straight ahead and left my super-nice-double stroller behind me?

Yep. That's the last place I saw it, and Dalton's performance was 2 days ago, my lovely-super-nice-double stroller is long gone.

We had a busy Saturday with birthday parties, scouts, cleaning the house for Mothers Day, shopping, chauffeuring car-less friends, and our neighborhood spring BASH, so I didn't have time to even check the schools parking area till 8pm. As we drove up, I wasn't at all hopeful. Dalton saw it first, and I just couldn't believe my eyes! My oh-so-lovely-super-nice-double stroller had been discretely moved to a grassy area just a few steps away from where I'm sure I left it. It had only been touched by some nice elementary kid or parent, and apparently a careless bird.

This world can be a scary place sometimes, very scary actually, I'm just grateful that there is evidence of good all around me. I'll be cautious with my children, and then do my best to extend my trust to the many people who deserve it in this world. I love where I live, we're going to miss it when we move.