Lost for a Moment or Two

We arrived at the resort at about 8:00 pm. Considering the duration of the journey, the kids actually did really well on this trip. We didn’t get “are we there yet” until about the last two hours, and mostly from Thunder Bear, who tends to get a little anxious about time-related matters. Pulling into the registration lobby, a fire engine, ambulance and police vehicle pulled in behind us, so that was a nice diversion for the boys while Papa Bear checked us in. We found our room, and proceeded to unload four luggage carts full of stuff, much of it groceries and ice chests. Wanting to support Brother Bear’s need for independence and for doing things of importance, we had him return one of the luggage carts to the lobby on his own. Now, this is a secured building we’re in. You can’t get in without a key card, and he wouldn’t be leaving the building, so this seemed like a no brainer. He’d been from the car to the room twice already, and on the second trip up took the elevator with his loaded cart by himself, meeting us upstairs. Well, after dropping off the empty cart, he got lost. He went to the fourth floor, instead of the third floor, got all turned around, and couldn’t figure out where we were. Papa Bear and I had finished unloading the last two carts, and Papa Bear was taking them downstairs when he commented that Brother Bear had not returned yet. A few minutes later, I got a call from Papa Bear asking if Brother Bear was in the room. Nope. Papa Bear located a couple of security officers, and they started looking. Brother Bear showed up at our door after about ten minutes, clearly upset and needing an extended mommy hug. I called Papa Bear and told him all was well.

Brother Bear is one of the most independent, self confident, and adventurous kids I know. Nothing seems to intimidate him. So, I guess I was a little surprised to see him so upset, not because he goofed and forgot where our room was, but because, in his words, he couldn’t find us. He called for us, and we weren’t there. For ten long minutes, he did not have his family, and that scared and upset him. Independence AND strong family bonds. That’s an unbeatable combination.