Calvin got lost

At the risk of CPS coming to track me down I will post this second parenting mishap on my private rather than my Calvin blog. The kids ride bikes a lot.  We have had such a fun time on our quiet street where the kids can safely play.  It's almost as good as a cul-de-sac.  Last week Calvin went out on Clare's bike. Now, before I continue with this story, let me say that I do have rules about where the kids can ride.  Calvin just chooses to ignore this and most other rules in the universe.  Anyway, Calvin went out on the bike.  Since the kids can't go too far I usually see them pass by the house every few minutes.  Or, if I step outside I can see them going up and down the street.  Last Thursday when Calvin went out I was doing cleaning, homework, piano with the girls, etc. so I just watched out the window for him to go by. I did not see him go by a single time. After about 30 minutes I was worried. I went out and walked around to see if I could catch a glimpse of him. No sign of Calvin. After 45 minutes I got in my car to look for him. No sign. After an hour I called Dave to see if I should call the police.  We decided to wait. We knew Calvin had gone too far from home and gotten lost.  For my first few weeks here I had to walk with my phone because the neighborhood was confusing to me! There are street names repeated on different sides of the neighborhood so even if you find our street name it might not be the one with our house!    I called a couple of friends and asked them to help look for Calvin. My next door neighbor was out walking his dog and when I stopped him to see if he had seen Calvin he offered to run home and get his car to help look too.  While we were out driving around Calvin showed up back at home (Clare was here waiting for him to tell him to stay home once he got home).  After 90 minutes he was home!  Crazy boy had gotten lost as we suspected.  He crossed a super busy road about a mile from our house and went into the next neighborhood. I would have never found him there. He stopped at the park to get a drink. He was red as a beat, hot, tired and a little worried. He has a little respect for the rules now and understands why we have them. Crazy children. They are going to wear us down, give us grey hair and wrinkles one way or another!