XXYY Project Blog

I was frantically pacing through the house calling out, “Honey where are you? Please answer mommy”. I told myself to calm down because I knew the outside doors were shut and locked. The doorknobs were also a bit too high too reach but you never know when he was going to break that barrier.

What was I doing? Searching for monsters? Fishing? No, I was looking for my son and trying to reason with myself to calm down. He HAD to be somewhere in the house but I knew if he felt safe and was off in his own world he might not even hear me calling. And yes I could be a few feet away from him and still be having the same experience.

I’d gone through all the bedrooms, quizzed his brother and sister, checked all the doors. I knew he couldn’t be outside and shuddered at the idea of what I was going to do when he got tall enough and patient enough to get the outside doors open.

I was checking the laundry room and opened the dryer – because yes he had crawled in there once. It had still been warm and I had left the door open to carry the last load to my bedroom to fold. He had crawled in there and just sat till I found him. I am embarrassed to admit I let a squeak of surprise slip out when I saw him and he bumped his head on the drum when I startled him.

Then I heard it, “Brrrmmm, brrrmmm.”, very quietly from the kitchen. Yes it sounded like he was playing cars. But where???? I slowed down my heart rate, checked my breathing and listened once more. Yes! There it was! He was somewhere in the kitchen.

I stepped into my kitchen, glancing throughout the room with a frown fixed on my face. Now understand that the kitchen was a square room at least 15′x15′. The only pieces of furniture were a small TV on a stand up against the wall, a rocking chair beside it and a children’s set of table and chairs. Beside the huge bay window was our kitchen table. It was about three feet away from the window with four chairs around and his high chair beside where I sat. So it was a large room with not much in it to hide behind.

I walked slowly over to the table and was about to pull up a chair to sit down in. Just as my hand reached the chair I saw him. Behind the table and chairs his back against the wall under the bay window, he sat. He had managed to remove the vent cover on the duct opening under the window. He had slipped both his legs to dangle in the ducting and sat perched on the edge of the floor. In front of him was a car he was playing with. I still have a photo of him doing that.

He was completely unaware I was watching him when I blurted out his name and added, “What on earth are you doing?” His head jerked up, he smiled and held up his car.

“Brrrm”, was all he said. I pulled him out of the duct and his bare little toes were roasty toasty warm. His arms laced around my neck.

“I bet you were cold,” I cooed, holding him on my lap. He smiled back at me.

Was I right? I don’t know but after that, I noticed every time the house was a little cool I could be assured of finding him plugged into a duct, warming his bare toes. And why didn’t he have socks on…..well that is another story all together.

What little ways did your child have to communicate with you? Were you able to tell what he was trying to communicate to you?