Tayshaun and I went to the swimming pool at Mom's condominium complex. After a day in the sun, I was dragging from heat exhaustion and Tayshaun, as usual, still had his high energy. We walked from the swimming pool back to Mom's place to return her pool key. Ok. I walked and Tayshaun ran, trying to entice me into a foot race to Mom's front door. When we got there, Mom wasn't home so I used my copy of her house key to get inside so I could leave her pool key on her entrance table. I walked back outside to catch up with Tayshaun who was already making his way to our vehicle.
Notice the pic above. Here's the corridor from Mom's front door to the parking section. Well just last week, Tayshaun again had initiated a race to our vehicle and rode his scooter right through the corridor and directly into the parking section without looking either direction for oncoming vehicles. Thank God there were no vehicles driving past, otherwise, he'd have likely been hit. Well, my screaming self tried to scare the shit out of him and explain the importance of watching that area for passing vehicles. I was really upset but thought he'd gotten the message.
Well back to this weekend. So as he's making his way to the end of the corridor, I kid you not. It was like a scene from a Final Destination movie. He was reaching the end of the corridor and I watched a vehicle drive swiftly past not three feet from where Tayshaun was walking. My heart stopped. I felt like I was going to throw up. If Tayshaun had been riding his scooter and chose not to look both directions, he would have been flattened - not just hit. Flattened! If he would have initiated a race to the vehicle and was running, he would have been flattened UNLESS he had listened to me and stopped at the end of the corridor to check for oncoming traffic. Thank God I'll never know.
I learned my lesson.....New rule. Tayshaun will be walking alongside me through the corridor to the parking section for now on.
When I think about it, I cry about what might have happened if our timing wasn't just so. My heart feels empty. My stomach sick. A pain in my chest and throat. Thanks for second chances.
OMG, I would have freaking out, have an anxiety attach. Just reading this made me gasps and my heart sink. Thank goodness you had the talk with him. Kids sometime think that they are invisible or are just not aware of how the things around them can hurt them.
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