Lost and Found

NOTE: The "Lost and Found" of this post does not refer to either of the boys. They are fine, were not lost and this story does have a happy ending.

Last night we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and head out to the zoo for the special event. It seems like half of central Ohio had the same idea, because I don't believe I've ever seen the zoo so crowded. We made our way into the parking lot, and loaded the boys in the stroller. Wesley decided to leave Bear in the car and tossed him on his seat - a decision I encouraged whole-heartedly because the last thing we wanted to do was lose Bear in that crowd.

We had a fabulous time at the zoo despite the crowds. Wesley was on his very best behavior. Ryan toddled around grinning. Sho and Kei really helped take care of the younger boys. That's what my post was going to be about. I was going to include lots of pictures and it would have been a great post, but then something else happened.

Around 8:00 we made our way back to the cars. I'd say 97% of the people who had been at the zoo were leaving at this time and once again the parking lot was a madhouse. We kind of forgot where we parked, so once we reached the general area Duane and Ryan went once way, while Wesley and I went the other. Duane found the car first, called my cell phone and loaded Ryan into the car while I made my way to them. We got Wesley buckled in, put the stroller away and pulled into the obscenely long line of cars. We caught a break and made it out of the parking lot and onto the main roads much quicker than we anticipated. We cranked some music for the kids and told Wesley what a great job he had done.

We were about 2 miles away from the zoo when Wesley said, "Where's Bear?" Now I clearly remembered that we left Bear on Wesley's seat, so we pulled into a strip mall parking lot and opened the back doors to get Bear for Wesley - only Bear wasn't there. We checked under every seat in the van and while we found a couple of really disgusting long missing sippy cups, two balls, and other miscellaneous debris, there was no Bear. We checked the diaper bag, the stroller, under the kids tushies - no Bear. ACK!!!

There was no choice but to head back to the (now closed) zoo. I wasn't even sure we'd be able to get into the parking lot, but we made it in. The line of cars leaving was almost gone and there were still a few stragglers in the lot. We figured that Ryan must have tossed Bear out of the van while he and Duane had been waiting for me and Wesley. We began to circle the part of the lot where we had parked. We flipped the brights on and circled for a good 20 minutes. We talked to people in the lot but there was no Bear. Wesley wasn't freaking out nearly as much as I thought he would, but he did keep saying things like "I hope no one took him home," and " He's my best buddy," and "Maybe he went home to wait for us there."

Duane drove up as close to the zoo entrance as he could and I prayed I'd be able to get inside to talk to someone in Lost and Found. I also made a quick call to Uncle Kirk who inherited Not So Stinky Bear (a new, clean version of Wesley's bear) a couple of years ago. I asked Kirk to please please please drive to our house and leave Not So Stinky on our back porch. I knew it wouldn't be the same, but figured it might help.

I made my way into the zoo and was fortunate enough to find someone in Lost and Found. I explained what we believe happened to Bear. No one had turned him in, but I was assured that the parking lot was cleaned first thing each morning and lots of lost items were turned in then. I was given a direct number to call in the morning and left a phone number where we could be reached if he showed up in the meantime.

I left the zoo and walked back to the van feeling physically sick. Somehow my mind was turning this into me letting Wesley down. I hated the fact that his 'best buddy' was lost. I got back in the van and told Wesley that we'd check with the zoo again in the morning. We explained that Uncle Kirk was bringing another bear that Wesley could use until the real Bear came home.

I tried to settle in my seat and keep from throwing up. Duane said, "I just want to make one more loop." We circled the lot one more time, then headed to same exit we used when we left the zoo before. As we turned onto the main road, Duane pointed and said, "What's that?" There, lying in the middle of one of five lanes, was Bear!!!! The best we can figure is that one of us put him on top of the van when we were getting the kids in the car and he fell off as we were driving.

I hopped out of the car and grabbed him. He was dirty and had probably been run over a few times, but he was really not much worse for the wear. I couldn't help it, I started to cry - no sob - in relief. I called Uncle Kirk and Aunt Susan only to discover that Kirk had left in such a rush to make things better for Wesley that he left his cell phone at home. I told Aunt Susan the saga and she said she'd tell Kirk as soon as he got home. We told Wesley that Bear would need a bath, but that it could wait until the morning.

As we were driving and Wesley was hugging Bear, Duane turned to me and said, "You know, when you were in the zoo, I asked my dad for help and right after I did that, I thought 'Retrace your steps exactly.' I think we had some help - and he's probably having a good laugh about it." Duane's dad passed away about 20 years ago. I never had the honor of meeting him, but from what I know of him and his family, he was an amazing man. I have no doubt that he helped us find Bear last night. And as I crawled under the covers with Wesley and one really dirty Bear, I said thank you to Grandpa W. Duane turned out the lights and said, "I told him that too."