The Great Escape...Lingerie, Blanket and a Naked Boy Yikes!!!

I was awakened to my neighbor, completely frantic with eye’s like saucers banging on my window yelling “Donna Donna Come Quick...Nicky’s at our House, Nicky’s at our House, He’s naked, He’s at our house!”

Nicky has seizures, which are the most active at night so he tends to wake up in the night. Sometimes he is only up for a few minutes and then he goes back to sleep and other times he pops up and he is WIRED and there is not change of him going back to sleep. You know it’s one of those nights when he turns on all the lights in the house, laughs a maniacal laugh, jumps up and down on the bed, and then when he realizes that I want him to return to bed he tantrums. When it’s a bad night, he’s up at 1:00am and does not go back to sleep, we just wander into the next day. It’s a vicious cycle that leaves us exhausted.

Well it was on just such an occasion that Nicky decided to escape from the house and yard. It was a Saturday morning. Maria, who cleans on Saturday was downstairs with us, Nicky was playing on his computer and feeling exhausted I laid down on the couch in the family room. I know his routine, and I have mommy radar hearing so I wasn’t worried. Suddenly I was awakened by a loud bang on the back window. My neighbor, completely frantic with eye’s like saucers was yelling “Donna Donna Come Quick!! Nicky’s at our House, Nicky’s at our House, He’s naked, He’s at our house!” I leaped up and ran down out of the house, down the driveway. I could hear my neighbor saying "I didn't know what to do, he wasn't listening to me".

I was literally terrified that Nicky had gotten out of the house, down the driveway and crossed the street and I did not hear him. I was scared for him, my mind flooded with thoughts about how he had crossed the street, and what if he had been hurt, I was feeling ashamed of myself, and lost as to how to calm my frightened neighbor, so I just ran. Down the driveway, across the street and into their house. They was my kiddo, naked with his tattered blue blanket and three video’s wanting to swim in their pool. I just grabbed him, held him, thanked God that he was okay and then I took a breath and it was in that minute that I looked up. I saw all these big eyed people (children and adults) just staring at me and Nicky, frozen like deer in the headlights. They looked frightened of this little naked boy who had invaded their home, who they could not understand, which caused me to feel very protective. Then I looked down at me, I was barefoot, in a pretty long satin lingerie. My neighbor’s new girlfriend was seeing me for the first time and she didn’t look happy. I suddenly had a mental picture of how this event might be unfolding in her mind (my boyfriend didn’t mention that the single lady across the street runs around in her lingerie and her children run around naked), and I just took a deep breath, lifted up my head, grabbed my kiddo, attempted to wrap him very small blanket around his privates, apologized and thanked them profusely for getting to me and walked home quickly with my head high.

I don't want to create a fortress where one can't get in or out but I will have to do something better because it only takes a second for this little one to get out and do what he wants to do.

Okay, more to stew on.