Where In The World Is Deb?

Okay, okay, I know that isn't funny - a little gallows humor because it scared the living crap (does crap live?) out of me. I was folding clothes in the living room and Seth was wandering in and out of the living room patio door. We have a 10 ft by 40 ft, completely enclosed backyard (six foot privacy fence). I often let him go out there alone for short periods of time because there is nothing that can hurt him out there. The gate is latched with a deadbolt which is really, really hard to move because the weight of the gate has pulled the hinges down. I have to use my foot to lift the gate up while simultaneously pulling the deadbolt.

So anyway back to the other night. Eli was putting a DVD in and suddenly decided to look in the backyard (Seth had only been out there about five minutes) and he runs back in with a panicked look on his face "MOM, Seth is GONE!!" Possibly the worst thing a mother could hear in regards to her 25 month old baby. Eli and I ran up and down the back and then the front to no avail. My neighbor was just coming home and his family pitched in as did everyone else we saw (gotta love the close knit community that is military housing). After I had been frantically searching for about ten minutes, I called security. The gate guard put me on hold before he even checked to see whether I *could* hold, arghhhh. When he came back, I firmly (but politely) suggested that in the future he should find out whether it is an emergency before he put someone on hold. He answered that several cars had just driven up and that traffic was his first priority. EXCUSE ME?!! Wrong thing to say to a mom who is freaking out. He put someone else on the phone and before I could get my whole story out, the guy just about dropped the phone and was at my house thirty seconds later. I told this guy what happened with the gate guard (after Seth had been found) - I am sure there were some adjustments made LOL.

Seth was found about five minutes later (after being gone a very long 20 minutes total) about a block away from the house, traveling the perimeter fence in pursuit of our dog. When he saw my neighbor (who found him), he started sobbing. Poor little guy. He had let the dog out and was simply trying to get him back the way that we always do. I am still at a loss as to how he got the gate open though. I think he must have stepped onto the bottom wood slat and his weight pulled the bolt down and out of the slot. In any case, I am putting a bicycle chain on the gate.

This is the jogging path that goes all the way around the housing complex. A baby can go far with very little effort!