The day we forgot the kid

Kid got left behind while we flew to France.  Good news is he thwarted some would-be robbers with a series of booby traps.  And we were all reunited on Christmas morning. 

Wait….  Wrong story.  Better read what really happened.

The movie started at 8:15, and we were rushing to get out the door at 7:55. And NO ONE was ready. We were finally going to see the last Harry Potter (sob!) movie. Along for the ride was my mother and another friend (whose wife insisted we take him since $9 was a lot to spend for “a 2-hour nap” – some people have no taste, Kristin). Added to the mix was the fact that it was the night before vacation, and my mom was snagging DQ so she could ride with them on the way down to San Diego. All her stuff had to be packed in the car, resulting in several trips in and out of the house.

Basically it was chaos.

We finally had it all together. There were too many of us to take one car, so we split up in two. Mr. W handed me 3 tickets for myself, DQ, and my mom. And he kept the rest for all the passengers in his car. And we were off.

“He’s driving a little fast,” my mom stated as Mr. W went 45 in a 40 zone. My mom followed suit by driving the speed limit as fast as she could. I heard a phone buzz, and I assumed it was DQ’s.

“Get used to that, Mom,” I said, in reference to my chatty teen and the road trip they’d be embarking on tomorrow. “Her phone rings a lot.”  But it wasn’t her phone, it was mine. I glanced at it and saw that Mr. W was calling me. I wondered what he forgot. But just before I picked up, I noticed the location said “Home”, and not “iPhone”. That was strange.

“Where are you guys?” a voice asked in the phone, and my mouth dropped open.

WE HAD FORGOTTEN THE TAZ!!!

“Are you at home?” I asked. My mom almost slammed on the brakes in the middle of traffic.

“You forgot me???” the Taz asked incredulously, his voice wavering slightly.

We totally had! My mom turned the car around at the next stop light and we headed back. DQ gleefully called Mr. W and then razzed his son when he picked up about the fact that they had driven off without the Taz. And I sat in the backseat, totally shaken that we had left the house without even bothering to see if everyone was present. HOW COULD WE HAVE LEFT WITHOUT HIM???

Luckily, the Taz was over it by the time we got there. He was leaning against my car in the driveway, a huge grin on his face. Apparently he had snuck up to his bedroom and was messing around on the computer while we were all bustling about trying to get everything together. And he hadn’t even noticed we were leaving, just as we hadn’t noticed he hadn’t climbed into the car. We grabbed him and were on our way, sitting in our seats by the time the previews were over. 

Oh, and Harry Potter? It was flippin’ awesome. And the sappy girl in me had tears in my eyes for the last hour – not because it was incredibly sad (though there were parts), but because it was ending and there wouldn’t be another.

SOB!

Oh, and just to be on the safe side? When we leave tomorrow for San Diego we’re going to strap the Taz to the roof just to ensure we don’t forget him at any of the rest stops.

See you all in a week!