A Crazy Mom, A Shopping Cart and A Police Officer

I hope you'll join me for Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane! For instructions on how to participate, click here.

Scene 1:
It was 2003 on a hot summer day. I parked my big van in the Wal Mart parking lot and took Abigail with me to pick up a few things. Jared who was then 13, stayed in the car with Cecily, Anna, Silas and Jonas.

It was piping hot, so I left the car running with the air-conditioner on.

Anna, who got over-heated quite easily because of her fast heartbeat, climbed in the driver’s seat so she could feel the air conditioner. She was only 5, but she was never an obnoxious child and Jared knew she’d sit still and not put the car in reverse or anything.

Apparently a passerby saw my little Anna in the driver’s seat with the van running and was concerned. I guess this person didn’t see my 13 year old in the passenger’s seat. At some point a police officer walked up to the van. Anna was in the back of the van at this point and began to panic. She sat there nervously while Jared talked to the officer. Jared told him that he had been in the van the whole time and that everything was under control. The police officer apologized and told him that somebody saw a little girl in the driver’s seat but didn’t say anything about an older child.

Anna kept asking Jared if they were going to get arrested. She thought she was in big trouble for sitting in the driver’s seat.

Scene 2:
Abigail and I walked out of Wal Mart completely unaware of what had happened. I’m riding the cart and laughing and hollering like a mad woman – I was just having fun! We got to the van, put the groceries in the back and climbed in the van laughing.

All of the children start talking at once telling me what happened. I thought they were teasing, but at some point I realized that they were serious. Anna was nearly in tears telling me that she thought they were going to go to jail.

I then realize that the police officer was likely watching from a distance to make sure that momma came back to the van and that the kids were safe and sound. The officer likely spotted me riding the cart and acting like a crazed lunatic mother. I had an “I got caught” feeling and then I laughed all the more and the kids laughed too. What a funny story we’d have to tell!

There are definite risks in being crazy, but it's certainly worth it to have a little (okay, a lot) of fun!


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