“They see me rollin’....” sang the stroller

Being a parent comes with so many learning curves. Of course, we are going to make mistakes along the way. But there are some mistakes that you  wish could be avoided....like the run-away stroller incident I experienced this week.

It all started with a trip to the zoo. This was my first outing by myself with both babies and a new stroller. As I parked, I started trying to play how I would get everyone out of the car.

I decided to proceed in the following order:

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1. park the car and open the trunk to set up the stroller base.
2. but the first seat in and buckle Grace in
3. attach the bassinet seat and put Madelyn in
4. put the diaper bag in the bottom, lock the car, and enjoy a day with family at the zoo

It seemed like such a simple plan, but things took a turn for the worst when I failed to engage the break properly. 

I had just strapped Grace into her seat and had turned back to the car to get the bassinet when suddenly I heard someone screaming across the parking lot, "YOUR STROLLER!!! YOUR STROLLER!!!"  I glanced to where I had just left Grace and instead saw her rolling away. 

I freaked out and ran after her. Luckily, the parking lot wasn't busy, so Grace wasn't in any danger, but STILL!  As I pushed her back to the car, I could feel the embarrassed tears filling my eyes. I tried to breathe deep and continue assembling the stroller, but I was flustered and feeling a bit overwhelmed.

The man who had yelled at me came over with his family. He was an older gentleman, with his wife, daughter (who was probably around my age), and grandson (about Grace's age).

"Sorry," he said as he approached. "I didn't mean to scare you. I would have grabbed the stroller if I had been closer."

"No, don't apologize. I am very grateful you yelled." I reassured him through my tears.

His wife smiled at me. "You'd be hard pressed to find a mom that hasn't had a similar experience." 

Their kindness calmed my tears. They wished me luck on my outing and left. I said a silent prayer of thanks that everyone was safe, packed up the rest of the stroller, and headed into the zoo to meet up with my sister-in-law.

So, everybody survived and I learned the invaluable lesson of the importance of stroller breaks.

Please tell me if you’ve ever had any similar parenting mistakes... let’s bond through our weaknesses :)