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Friday, June 5, 2009

Deja Vu

When the triplets were about 3-4 years old Spencer started leaving the house on his own. Some times we wouldn't know he was gone and a neighbor would recognize him and bring him home. It got so bad that we installed bolt locks up high on the doors. And started sleeping with one eye open! One time we noticed he was gone and while we were out searching for him, the police brought him home! He was only in his diaper and had made it about 2 blocks away. Someone on the sidewalk recognized him and waived down the police and told him where we lived.
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In the summer, he was in the fenced in backyard playing in the water from the hose. When I peaked out to check on him, his swimming trunks were there but no Spencer! I left the other three boys and jumped in the van and drove around looking for him. Fortunately, I found him quickly in the parking lot of the little local grocery. He was standing there, buck naked, with a bag of DumDum suckers in his hands! Beside him stood the store clerk....scouring the parking lot for parents that lost a naked boy who had just stolen a bag of suckers!
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One time we woke up to the doorbell early in the morning. It was a college student who worked in Spencer's Sunday School class. She had recognized Spencer, again buck naked, running through the village and rescued him. We were asleep and didn't even know he had gone!
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Another time, we put the boys to bed and as it was still early and light outside, The Mister and I walked around the house discussing some landscaping plans. As were came around the corner of the house beside the boys' bedroom, guess who had pushed the screen out and had one leg out the window!?
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These are only a handful of the many stories I have of The Escaping Spencer!
After about a year of this, Spencer stopped running!
I'm sure his guadian angel was glad for the break! :)
That is.... until the first day of summer vacation this week!
Well, he didn't really get away. But I did catch him,
as I sat at my computer, standing at the back fence.
As he lifted his leg up to go over the side, he saw
me in the window. Notice the disgusted look on
his face! But not as disgusted as the look on MY face!
Bushy bedhead and missing his pajama pants.....
at least he wasn't buck naked this time!
It may be a long, long summer! :)

29 comments:

  1. Betsy-I know I've said this before, but you are quite a woman! You encourage me take motherhood with some laughter. What a track-record that Spencer has!!

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  2. When my oldest boys were young one of our neighbors had a very precocious daughter. I think she was just over 3, not 4 yet, I'm sure. She disappeared one day. When she was finally found, she was more than 7 blocks from home. The worst of it was that she had crossed a very busy highway to get to where she was found.

    I hope Spencer isn't feeling the need to revisit his wandering days. Never a dull moment, huh?

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  3. How cute and funny is that! I'm sure it was very scary but those stories are just so funny. I love that look.

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  4. Oh, boy, one of those "here we go again" moments, eh? You must just live on prayers... honestly, though, I guess all parents do!

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  5. I'm glad you can laugh now, but I can imagine the terror you must have felt during those scary moments.

    Is Spencer the one that loves the pool? Maybe when you get that set up he'll be less likely to run.

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  6. I had to take a few minutes to type ... I was laughing so hard. But seriously, I have a tiny inkling of what that must have felt like. I 'lost' Carl (developmentally disabled Carl) twice ~ once in Marshall Fields when he was about five and again in Athens Ohio during a visit to my sister and Carl's cousins. In Chicago we finally caught up with Carl sitting quite comfortably in an executive office coloring in a big color book and in Ohio we were beginning to panic when a police car pulled up to the house and Carl made a graceful exit from the patrol car ... thru the years there have been many times he has been late walking home from work, or the movies or the health club and I have quietly panicked .. never to let him know how frightened I had been for his safety. Once when he was in his late teens he was robbed at gunpoint (his wallet) and he didn't tell us for weeks ......
    So dear Betsy, hang in there. It does get better, promise.

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  7. Oh my goodness, this was a fun read! I wonder where he was off too this time. I also so wonder why he thought it was fun to take off this way when he was a toddler. It must have been very stressful for you not knowing where he was.
    The top picture is so cute.;))

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  8. That sleeping with one eye open is a terrific idea. I wonder how it is accomplished! :)

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  9. MG ~ It's Alex that loves the pool. Too bad!

    Yes, that horrible feeling at the time! That panicky dread in the pit of your stomach. Fun to laugh at now, but now so much fun at the time!

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  10. Helen ~ oh my, you have some stories yourself! It's such a relief when you find them, huh!

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  11. I remember very vividly babysitting and watching them work as a team to climb the bookshelf and try to unlock the bolt! :) Hopefully Spencer decides home is the place to hang his hat (or his undies) this summer! :)

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  12. Not knowing where my daughter is has to be one of my scariest nightmares. What patience you have, it's really inspiring.

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  13. Oh, my! I love your positive attitude about it, and your presence of mind to even photograph Spencer in the act! I know some of that attitude must rub off on him, too - at least I'm hoping!
    Susan

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  14. Wow! You must have been in a perpetual state of worry when he was a little boy. It is rather funny that he wanted to be buck naked. Don't we all wish for that kind of freedom some days (or is that just me)?

    We'll keep our fingers crossed that the Summer's not too challenging. How about a nice big labrador dog to keep an eye on him?

    Kat

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  15. What a funny, funny story, at least in hindsight. Thank you for sharing it! I laughed and laughed, and then laughed again as I shared it with Robert. Oh, the patience you must have and the jewels you are earning in your crown to lay at Jesus' feet.

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  16. OH MY STARS! I'm laughing but I shouldn't be but it's just so funny I can't help it. From this angle, he looks like he's in a mini jail with the fence. Oh honey, people have no idea what you go through do they? Take care and have a peaceful weekend.

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  17. I will NEVER forget Spence's escapade to the grocery store for lollipops!! One of many Spencer escapes...it is amazing that you do NOT have more gray hair and wrinkles!!
    Hmmmmmm, good thing he had his Momma to give him the "Don't EVEN THINK about it!!!!" look TODAY!!!

    STINKER!

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  18. these stories touch my heart and my funny bone, betsy! thank goodness for that guardian angel!!

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  19. a traveler is born and grows up!

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  20. I'm sure looking back on these stories, they are funny now,,,but not then! Bless your heart! Thanks for sharing these stories Betsy.

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  21. A toddler named Spencer would fly
    “Not again” his poor mother would cry.
    Yet again, at 15,
    He escaped the home scene
    But was stopped by his Mom’s evil eye!

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  22. SCARY!! I would have panicked each and every time as I'm quite sure you did too.

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  23. Besty- Clee and Spencer must be channeling one another... glad it's not just me, sorry.
    This post put a huge smile on my face!
    Spencer is indeed working his angels, but i'm sure they're loving the chase! :)

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  24. Oh Betsy, that look on Spencer's face IS priceless! "Foiled again!" he seems to be saying!

    Your grace under pressure is amazing, Bets. My knees were weak just reading about Spencer's escapes.

    Hugs to you...

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  25. Spencer! Heart attack city! You have the patience of ten saints Betsy! What an amazing woman you are.. I love the look on his face....busted!

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  26. i've seen that same look on matty's face a few times....lol

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  27. oh I can relate to this post. Noah used to take off very quickly and be gone too if we did not watch him constantly and I mean constantly. One of us (me or his dad) had to be with him all the time and we even had Noah sleep with one of us at night because he thought nothing of unlocking a door to get out. We had to put those doorknob plastic childproof things on the doorknobs to keep him from getting out the front door. I had to put gates on the windows so he could not open them or push out (we lived upstairs in a condo).

    Since being back in Ohio he has removed his clothing more than once...thinks nothing of it. When the 2 little neighbor girls lived next to us....he always was trying to climb over the fence to go to their house. EVEN with me watching and explaining to him how I would not know where he was...I caught him climbing up and over the fence and disappearing INSIDE their house!

    He also removed his clothes one summer in front of the girls and somehow convinced them to both do the same! I saw him dancing around outside in the grass completely naked....Not sure what the mom thought about all that.

    I got so used to always "hovering" around Noah for so many reasons....now that I don't have to AS MUCH....it is very odd...but also nice. However...as soon as I think I have no worries....he does something again to remind me he still needs more monitoring than the average child would!

    I wonder where Spencer was headed this time if you had not caught him?

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  28. Suza ~ you sweetheart! I love this little poem!

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  29. Melinda ~ oh, yes...you CAN relate! And you know, people don't think it's so cute when they strip after hitting puberty! Oh my....I DO have more stories but will stop at this.

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