He wasn't there.
I felt sick.
I ran to the end of the road and there he was, about 100m away, crossing the road. Admittedly a quiet residential road, but a road. All by himself, crossing the road.
I ran.
I ran as fast as I could.
He ran.
He ran as fast as he could.
Giggling.
I caught him and told him off. I said that he should never go on a walk by himself, or cross a road by himself. I carried him back and got him into the car, where the girl was happily playing in her seat. Then I burst into tears. He knew he had upset me, but didn't know why. I tried to explain as best I could that he just can't go off like that.
We had another chat that evening and he seemed to get it. I don't want to make the world a scary place yet. I don't want him to know there are horrible people around. He's only two. He doesn't need to know that yet. But he needs to be safe. I have said that I don't want to treat him like a baby, but if he does, I will have to put him in the car first and not let him do things by himself (like getting into the car).
On Friday, we had another chat before we went out for the morning. He stuck close to the pram and didn't run further than about 10 metres from the pram. When we got home at lunchtime, he looked at me and said "you're very happy with me".
Yes, I am happy with him, and I hope that he sticks with me in the future.
