Josiah's Journey

I ordered an identification bracelet for Josiah yesterday.  The inscription on the front reads, "If you find me alone, I am lost.  Please read the back of this bracelet."  On the back is his name, address and the cell phone numbers for my husband and me.  Tears welled up in my eyes when I ordered it.  How scary to think that this may be the only thing that helps bring my little boy back to me should he choose to explore the neighborhood unescorted again.  The wording about being lost wasn't my idea.  It was actually a sample on the web-site.  Obviously others have been in the same situation or have feared their special needs child wandering off and being found by a stranger.  Having something on the child to identify him definitely offers some small sense of comfort.  There are many products available to help parents of children with special needs, should they become lost.  There are  temporary tatoos, shoe tags, wrist bands, electronic devices (these are quite costly, thousands of dollars actually) and then the less expensive option of an I.D. bracelet.  Having  the child never leave your side is a better option.  But that is just not realistic either. 

Josiah used to 'elope' quite frequently just a few years ago.  Despite our best efforts to keep all the doors locked and the gate bolted shut, he was faster than Houdini.  In a moment's notice that kid could slip out of sight and be gone in a flash.  The house would be unusually quite for a few brief seconds and then we would know.  One of us would call out, "Do you have Josiah?"  We would all take off running in various directions.  Some of us would check upstairs.  (Josiah enjoyed closing himself in a small half attic off the gameroom often times.)  Some would run out the backdoor and check the garage.  Some would run out the front door and search up and down the streets.  But the worst was when we never did know.  The worst was when a total stranger would knock on the door, with Josiah in hand and ask, "Is this your little boy?"  "I found him wandering in the street dragging these beads." 

My mom called the other day with the perfect solution.  "I am sending you $1,000" she said,"so you can get Josiah a trained therapy dog that will be with him at all times."  Such a sweet, precious mom I have.  What a loving gesture.  Therapy dogs run closer to $5,000.  Not a likely remedy at this juncture. So for now, Josiah will wear his ID bracelet when it arrives.  He won't like it and it will be an ordeal to get the thing on him initially.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  He doesn't like change.  He doesn't like things on him that shouldn't typically be there.  But we'll work through it.  And just for extra security, I ordered the bracelet with the double clasp.  It will offer some piece of mind.   Josiah will not be able to take it off.  At least not for a few days anyway.