Together Forever

I nearly had a heart attack this week.

Being the strong willed three-year-old that he is, Taylor often gets in trouble for acting out at the grocery store. By the end of the shopping experience, I am typically frazzled and fighting a losing battle to keep my cool. And the old saying is oh-so true: "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy ."
Really, it just isn't pleasant for anyone involved.

So on our most recent outing, I decided that if Taylor ran off again at the store, I would try and teach him a lesson. And true to form, a few minutes after we had arrived he saw something that interested him and dashed off to look at it. With a heavy sigh, I pushed my cart to the end of the aisle. The brilliant idea was that I would keep an eye on him while keeping out of his line of sight-- the end goal being that once he realized that I was gone he would be more compelled to stay by my side in the future. But as is often the case, my brilliant idea completely backfired. Once I got to my covert location and turned to watch Taylor's next move, he was gone. Gone.

Panic.

I frantically pushed my cart through the nearby aisles, calling Taylor's name and... nothing. It was though he had just vanished into thin air. My anxiety level started to skyrocket. Turning the corner, I ran into my friend Deb. (Thanks for helping me stay calm!) Together we continued searching for Taylor until the announcement came over the store intercom: "Attention all customers, we have a missing mommy..."

Never before have I been so relieved and yet so embarrassed at the same time.

As I approached the customer service desk, Taylor cried out with excitement and ran to my arms. Tightly clutched in my embrace, I did not want to let go. Fighting back tears, I exclaimed, "Taylor! I was so scared! Please, never EVER run away from Mommy again! I was so worried you were completely lost!"

Taylor kissed me on the cheek and hugged me tighter.
"I'm sorry I got lost, Mom. I will listen to Mommy at the store now. But don't worry, Mom. We will always be together. It's part of Heavenly Father's plan."

"What?" I looked into his big blue eyes.

"Families can be together forever, Mom. We will always be together."

"That's true, Taylor," I agreed. "But Mommy wants to protect you and keep you safe. When you run away from Mommy like that I get very scared that you will get lost or hurt. Please, please, please stay by Mommy's cart from now on, okay?"

"Okay Mommy," he acquiesced. "I'm really sorry. But we will always be together."

Funny how when you start out trying to teach your children, they will inevitably teach you something right back.


I have a family here on Earth.
They are so good to me.