I was just looking at Bishop's (10 yo with invention) page and one woman made a comment that she unknowingly left her son in her car in 2001 and he died, she was absolutely moved by Bishop's effort. Just reading her words 16 years after the fact shook me.
OT....My 5 year old child separated from me in Disneyworld years ago. We would stop for me to look at the map and calculate our path forward. Well, we stopped, I put both hands on the map, she said oh mom look and she took a few steps. The herds of people walking by came between us. She apparently took steps, I took steps, but not towards each other. I was screaming for her in a blood curdling howl.. The panic, the fear, the anxiety, beyond what words can describe....but I still get that anxious rush just talking about it. Park personnel rushed to me, assured me they would find her and sure enough, she was about 40 feet away. A family swooped her up and was waiting with her near a tree. Honest accident but one that many would cast their judgment against. I lost my kid for about 6 minutes, and maybe it wasn't even that long, but in the moment, it felt like she was gone forever.
I have such deep sympathy and sorrow for those who make the honest, yet fatal mistake with their children. No one is perfect. We are creatures of habit and routine. How many times do you realize you were in auto-pilot, and you make it to your destination, but knowing you weren't laser focused on every moment of the drive. Or, you leave work and know you need to go to a different destination, but out of habit, you start your normal route home only to have to turn around.
