Brain’s Son Gets Lost in Ikea

Our brief trip to Minneapolis wouldn't have been complete without a stop at Ikea. The Swedish furniture giant has huge stores in several U.S. cities that feature completely decorated rooms that you can walk through and browse. Even if you don't buy anything, it's an experience to just walk through the store and see everything they have to offer. We embarked on such a journey, and lost one of our children in the process.

We were over halfway through the store when one of my daughters had to use the restroom. Holly said she would take the girls and find a restroom, and that Chase and I should stay put and they'd be back. Sounded like a great plan. One problem. Chase didn't hear the plan. He wandered off, checking things out and became disoriented. I didn't see which direction he went, and assumed he went with his mom and sisters. Holly and the girls returned a short time later and asked me, "Where is Chase?"  Gulp.

It was the first time that one of our kids had run off and gotten lost. Thank god it was Chase. He's 10, and is fairly resourceful and doesn't panic easily. I'm not sure how other parents react in the same situation, but I didn't panic. I was angry. He knows better! Holly was much the same way. How could he just wander off? After we searched nearby areas with no luck, I began to start feeling that sickness in my stomach. The bad thoughts began to creep in. What if something really bad happened? It was around that time that we saw Chase walking down an aisle towards us. His first words? "Where did you guys go?" I took him into the restroom, which was vacant thankfully, and gave him the standard parent speech. I was angry, but more than that relieved that we found him. He didn't hear his mother's directions to stay put, and I failed to keep an eye on him. Lessons learned, disaster averted. Now, where are those damn meatballs?