It was just a routine washroom visit at the mall before going home. Edrick went to the Gents. Kitreena and I went to the Ladies. But as I was almost done, I heard Edrick screaming in fear, “Mommmmm! Mommmyyy! Mommmyyy! Help meee! Mommmmyyy! Helpppp! Mommmyyy help meee!”
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I did what any Mom would do.
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Storming out of the Ladies and storming into the Gents, I had no care whose flies went flying! I pushed the door open and pulled my son into my arms and could immediately feel his heartbeat against my tummy. Edrick was in tears. Kitreena was there too, almost in tears. In the Gents. Soon after calming Edrick (and myself) down, I asked him what happened and after listening to his explanation, I quickly demonstrated to him what to do next time.
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The water closet doors are different from those at any other malls we know. The doors pull inward to open, but there is no handle to pull it by from the inside unless you are tall enough to reach for the hook. And Edrick is not tall enough to reach it. The door was a bit tight and he panicked when he couldn’t get the door opened. I almost wanted to just stay there for my son, but he calmed right down and told me he was okay. Only then that I remembered that I left my handbag/handbox in the Ladies!
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Driving home tonight, I found myself taken back to IKEA in Moscow when we were still a complete family. The memory was so clear I thought I was in 2009 when I had this strange thought… that my job as a Mom was made a bit easier having a girl as the first child and a boy second. Washroom visit with a young child was going to be Daddy’s duty. “Yay!” I thought then.
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And then it was 2010 and things changed.
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Tonight, a night in 2013, I am writing this, thinking… maybe I should start looking for someone who could be there for me while I am being there for me Monchies. But the thought didn’t stay long. Nor did it sit well. I came home counting my blessings that my children have their Mommy and Daddy. And both are ME!
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Questa è Enida 
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