Kicking Myself

I hesitate to write about this because it makes me look bad. Yesterday at Ava's school Easter party, we all went outside to the playground to hunt eggs. Nate was squirming in my arms so I put him down and began taking pictures of Ava grabbing eggs. For a full 5 minutes I was watching Ava and the egg hunting activities. Then, I saw her teacher carrying a crying Nate toward me from the opposite side of the playground. In that moment I was shocked and horrified to realize that I had completely forgotten about Nate. It was as if I didn't even think he was there with us he was so far removed from my mind. I had never experienced that before and I hope to never experience it again. How could a mother forget that her child is with her and forget to watch after him? My friend Amberly thinks that I felt subconsciously safe to let him wander because we were in a gated play area with lots of friendly adults around, so I knew he was safe. But there was play equipment he could have hurt himself on, so I should have been paying attention to him. I got caught up in what Ava was doing and just forgot. It's embarrassing. It's a warning to focus. So there- I made a mistake and have shared something I am ashamed to admit.