Little Thief

Warning: There is a picture of throw up in this post. Yep, I am that mom.

Last Friday, I went to the grocery store with Alex. I was letting him walk around instead of making him ride in the cart. We were checking out, and I was finishing placing the contents of the cart onto the conveyer belt. I turned around, and Alex was huddled in the corner. He was unwrapping a pack of gum! I did not think this lesson would be coming at such a young age. I quickly handed the pack of gum to the cashier, and once it was scanned, I placed it in my purse before Alex could see. There was no way he was going to get the gum he had tried to steal. Alex doesn't know how to chew gum. He swallows it almost immediately so we don't let him have it.

On Monday night, I was showing Sam the pack of gum and Alex's attempt to open it, and then Sam put it in the drawer of his nightstand. (Mistake #1.)

On Tuesday morning, Alex was playing and I fell asleep during Edison's first nap. (Mistake #2.) I woke up when Alex came up to me with two hands full of wrappers and said, "Wrappers, Mommy! More?" I realized he had eaten all ten pieces of gum. I had not been asleep for very long. Alex had only eaten an apple for breakfast that morning so he must have still been hungry.

An hour later, we were headed out to go feed some ducks with a friend. As I got bread out of the fridge, Alex grabbed a Capri-Sun. We pulled out of our neighborhood and Alex started coughing. He just kept coughing like he was choking on something. Suddenly it all started coming back up.

A few days earlier, a little girl threw up on our couch while I was babysitting her. I knew she was sick, but her mom really needed a babysitter. (Mistake #3 since I think Edison now has what she had).

I wasn't sure if Alex was sick because he had caught his friend's illness or if it had been because of the gum. The throw up did not smell at all. It was just apple, gum, and juice. I could see each little red piece of gum. I am so glad he didn't have cereal that morning.

I did a quick U-turn, called to cancel the play date, and put Alex in the bath. Edison was jealous that he couldn't get in, too. I asked Alex where it hurt because I wanted to know if he was sick. He gave me a quizzical look while shaking his head and said, "No hurt, Mommy."

He wasn't phased by this at all. He did have red marks on his chest from where the throw up sat while I was trying to get home and get paper towels. None of it got on the car. It was almost all on his clothes. Lucky duck!

Although the events of stealing the gum, eating it, and throwing it up were too far separated for Alex to make the connection, I am going to use this as a lifelong lesson for him; bad choices on his part lead to not-so-pleasant consequences for everyone around him.