I think for the post part I post positive things about my almost 10-year-old son, Braeden. In general, he’s a pretty good kid. Yesterday, though, he plain and simply scared the crap out of me!
He came home from his play and he looked at his To Do List, which included the standards such as piano and guitar practice, as well as one money-maker which is a job out of the normal activity range. He decided he would rather walk the dog than do the money-maker, which is absolutely fine. Usually the two of them go perhaps to Castner Road and back, which is not far beyond our property line. Sometimes he will go up Oak Ridge, which runs through our second parcel. He can have some trouble with Mist because she is a pretty big dog with few manners – she was never formally trained, and huskies, even if they are muttskies, like to pull. Brae will get nervous if she is too bouncy and come home.
I expected him back before Dave even headed to the grocery store. Dave left and called me after he stopped and chatted with Braeden about a half mile down the road. They were doing well and I was told not to worry. I got side-tracked for a bit and then I realized he still wasn’t home. No biggie, he is probably skateboarding in the driveway and the dog is watching off leash. Nope, not out front. Not out back. I call his cell phone. It’s on his desk, and not even on, so that didn’t work.
I called Dave and he was rather dismissive. Thane was asleep so I didn’t know if I should wake him and try to drive around and find Braeden. I called Dave again and told him to come home. A few minutes later, Braeden called. Of course, I didn’t have the best greeting for him – “Where the hell are you?” is what I asked.
If I had half a brain, I would have realized from the Caller ID, but sometimes I forget that the home phone is not like cell phones – it gives you the name if the person calls from a registered phone, not just any phone you plug into your contacts list. I was thinking he might have met up with members of this friend’s family down the road, but no, he was at their house – three miles away. It was one of those moments where you want to cry with relief, hug your child, and throttle him at the same time. Three miles is way too far for a boy two weeks shy of 10 to be walking with only the protection of an 11½-year-old dog, even if she weighs 89 pounds. I asked him to get permission to stay there until Dave could pick him up – he was ready to start walking back!!!
On the one hand, I am proud of him for controlling the dog and walking so far. On the other hand, what on earth possessed him to think that was safe? His school has a policy where they don’t make rules until they need to – I definitely understand the concept more and more over time.
On a side note, the old dog was pretty funny today. I had someone here from HughesNet as I tried upgrading my service and the new modem wouldn’t commission because of a receive error. The repairman came today and Mist got up and sniffed him for a second, and they just lay down on the floor, in his path, and stayed there. She didn’t follow him out or any of the usual stuff. Poor dog had only started her arthritis meds on Saturday so she probably needed to take it easy today.
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