I Lost My Bob

I've been a bit of a mess lately. There was the day a few weeks ago when I locked my keys in the car.  Then this week I was packing up into our car after a run and forgot to load our stroller. By the time I realized my mistake and returned for our stroller, it was gone. I know it is just a stroller, but it felt like a piece of me was missing. I freakin love that stroller. I've been using it at least once a day since Elise was born and even used it some ahead of time while I was watching Jake. It was a present from my parents and always symbolized to me how excited they were to have another grandchild. So excited we received it months before Elise even arrived. I've had so many awesome runs and adventures while pushing that stroller. It has held my children and even protected them at times. We had an instance where Harper went on the wrong side of a speed limit sign and tipped the stroller over. Both kids were just scared but totally safe although the sun shade did get a little scraped up.  I felt like I had lost a pet. A very wonderful and obedient pet who never caused problems or peed on my carpet. When I thought of someone else using our stroller, I couldn't help but think they would never love it like we did. They would never use it as much as we did. They wouldn't appreciate it like we did. I found myself making lost posters just like you would for a dog. And quite frankly that stroller is worth a heck of a lot more money than most dogs. I feel like I'm in mourning of not just the amount of money I lost in that stroller but in the stroller itself which has been such a wonderful tool for my family.

The Bob providing sibling bonding during a run.

The Bob made an awesome pirate ship!

 

When I first realized what I had done I was so distraught. I just couldn't stop crying. And I cried off and on the entire day. It took a while before I could tell anyone what happened without crying which was a little bit embarrassing. Sweet Carter kept telling me over and over, "It's okay, mommy. Everyone makes mistakes. You didn't mean to do it. Mistakes happen, mommy. It was an accident." It did make me feel better but it didn't keep me from beating myself up about it. How could I do something so thoughtless? How could I lose something so big and worth so much money? Yes, mistakes happen, but $600 mistakes are much harder to swallow. Our stroller was decked out. We had a cup holder that velcroed on the top along with a weather shield which I always kept in the space below the stroller in case of bad weather. Those items combined to another $100 lost. And the whole reason why I forgot the stroller? A $4 tube of diaper cream. Yep, I forgot about the stroller because I was frantically searching for diaper cream. As we were getting ready to leave the park after running and then playing at the splash pad I noticed there was a woman sitting in the car next to us. In case she was leaving I parked the stroller in front of the van instead of behind it so it wouldn't be in her way. Then I talked to her and found out she was waiting for her son who was finishing up practice so I thought I'd go ahead and change Elise's diaper. I pulled the diaper and diaper cream out of my bag and set them in the front seat. I then unloaded both the kids from the stroller. Carter climbed in the back while I took Elise's swim suit off. Then he decided to climb into the driver's seat to mess around rather than change out of his swim suit like I had asked. When I told him to head to the back, he did, but upon my arrival to change Elise's diaper, the diaper cream was missing. She had a spot on her bottom that was so raw it was bleeding and I couldn't stand the thought of not putting medicine on it so I searched all over the car for it, even checking under the car. I was so upset and frustrated about the whole situation plus the lady next to me was ready to leave so I needed to close the front door. I went ahead and put Elise's diaper on and got both the kids strapped into their car seats. Then I looked behind me the whole time I backed up and made it all the way home never even thinking about our stroller.

We looked all over multiple sites for any postings of lost strollers. I posted lost stroller ads and Ty called the parks department as well as multiple nearby police numbers with no luck. After a day of hoping and waiting, we had pretty much lost all hope. We started searching for used double Bob strollers online. We found a few but they were older models that didn't have the connectors to place a car seat adapter. If we have a third child we will for sure need that. Ty also had some reservations about buying a used one because I use the dog out of it. We run on all types of surfaces, but mostly pavement and trails or dirt tracks. I put a lot of wear and tear on the stroller and he had already replaced items on our stroller during the 2 years I had used it. He didn't want to buy a used stroller and then put a ton of miles on it, needing to replace it again later. We debated not replacing it but I use it every day and if we didn't I would be very limited on when I could run since I wouldn't be able to take the kids on runs. So we buckled down and purchased a new Bob Duallie yesterday. We had it shipped to my parents' house because we are running a race near them on Saturday night and will need the stroller for everyone to be able to run. It already arrived today. While I'm still mourning the loss of our beautiful, orange Bob, I am excited to see what color this new one is! After walking to the library yesterday with the single Bob which thank goodness we kept instead of selling when we got the double, I am so glad we made the decision we did! Elise spent most of the walk kicking Carter in the back while he sat on the front and Carter spent a decent amount of the walk crying and fussing that she was kicking him. Not fun! We had enough points from our Discover card on Amazon that we could buy a brand new stroller for just $100 more than the used ones I had found. All in all, I think we made the best decision. Good bye money I have been saving up for plane tickets to Florida for us to meet our nephew this winter. I'll be starting that saving all over again now! 

Elise laughing about kicking Carter off the front of the stroller.

So between stranding my children in a hail storm with our keys locked in the car and losing a stroller and accessories worth around $700, I started to wonder if there was something wrong with me. Then Thursday morning we were supposed to meet a friend at her house and walk to their neighborhood pool. She has a 2 month old and wanted to get out before it got too hot so she suggested we meet up at 9:00 am. For some reason, I totally forgot and was planning to be there at 10:00. When she texted me at 9:10 and I realized my mistake I again began to wonder, what is my deal?! On the drive to her house I kept feeling like there was a spider crawling on my foot. Every time I looked down there was nothing there. Finally I was like okay, this is it, I have early onset MS. Then I finally discovered it was a fly walking on my foot and then flying off. While I wish there was an excuse for my terribly scattered brain, thank goodness that isn't it. Ty joked I must be pregnant, but I most definitely am not. Just in case any of you were having the same thought. I think maybe I just need to sleep for like 2 days and then I'll wake up able to remember things again.