Friday, December 14, 2007

The Time Has Come

So Wednesday night while in baby class somehow the grocery store armed robbery came up.. and I was reminded of how raw that really still is for me.. even a year later.
Those of you who know me may already know this story, those of you who are regular readers may have heard me allude to it in the past.

Well the time has come for the whole story, maybe this will finally bring me some closure....

Last Fall was not a *good* time for me. I was very pregnant, and being me, that means I was humongous. By the end of November I was about 170 lbs... so you can imagine that is a lot on my frame. I was uncomfortable... and oh yeah I was stressed out. Kid had just had her second seizure and I was not sleeping (at all) due to the combination of unbearable heartburn, and unbearable grief. The end of my pregnancy was so stressful that I truly did fear I might somehow be damaging the baby and in fact I was under so much stress that I had been having regular contractions since September. I am not joking, hours of contractions 3-5 minutes a part several times a week. This situation was just about to get a whole lot worse... I just didn't know it...

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Mr F, Kid, and I piled into the car and headed to the strip mall. I needed to do some grocery shopping and Mr F and Kid were going to head into the Blockbuster for a movie.

I went to the grocery store. I entered the front of the store (by the registers) and then turned right and proceeded to snake my way all the way around the store ending in dairy (to the left of the registers). I had just come to the front end of the aisle when I heard a woman yelling at her son... kind of hysterically.. and I remember thinking some bad thoughts about her. I couldn't see her and it sounded like she was in one of the first checkout lanes by the doors.

Less than a second later I have a funny feeling and everyone stops moving and gets down. A cashier in the lane right in front of me comes running (while squatting) and says "get down he's got a gun" (just so you know even writing that makes me cry). From where I am at the end of the store in front of the last two registers I cannot see the gunman and realize that it was his cashier who was yelling and that they are in the first few checkout lanes. Our store is not big... but I can't see past the checkout lane displays. So in this moment, in the very instant, that I realize what is happening I scan the store. To my right is a doorway that leads to the recycling... but I don't want to get trapped... and I don't know where it goes or if there is one gunman or more than that.. or if they would see me(likely). But I do know one thing I am not staying here and getting shot. I had been watching The Nine, which was about hostages, which although escalated my fears... did motivate me to get the hell out. I was not about to wait and see what was going to go down. And really they say you have a fight or flight response to danger and writing this out makes it seem like it took much longer than it took for me to KNOW that I was making a run for it somehow.

So as the cashier runs past me... I turn leaving my purse and cart and run back down the dairy aisle toward the back of the store. I am safe while in the diary aisle. At the end of the aisle I will have to make a right and go in front of a few aisles, making it possible to get shot, but then I can go into the back of the store where the loading docks are. I decide it is worth it and run. I see a mom & her son and wave them to come. We get to the back. Now I have a sudden panic that maybe they are escaping through the back and an accomplice might be out at the loading docks. Luckily there are 3 workers in the back, one of them a manager. It turns out those doors are locked and without him we couldn't have gotten out. I am more than a little wound up and trying to quietly demand that he let us out. He is obviously bewilderd but reluctantly opens it. Now we run. RUN. I run as fast as I can while sobbing all down the back of the complex. Being pregnant, and not too quick, everyone takes off and I am pretty quickly alone doing this. Before everyone got to the end of the complex there was a Domino's delivery guy waiting outside the Domino's back door. A woman told him what was going on but then said NOT to call 911 yet. If you watched The Nine, you would have understood her point, and I was thinking "good one"... you don't want to panic him and have him actually start shooting.

I turn the corner. Domino's is at the close end and Blockbuster is at the far end. I just wanted to get to Blockbuster and see Kid and Mr F. I was tired and crying and NOBODY stopped to ask me if I was okay (wtf? I could have been in labor!). But I was still panicked and had a worst case scenario that the gunman/men might go crazy and shoot up another store (it happens!). I finally get to Blockbuster (I should note that at this point it has been about 2 minutes since I started running out the store).

As soon as I approach the window I am struck with the realization that they might not be in Blockbuster anymore. Now very panicked and anxious I scan the store. THEY ARE NOT IN THE STORE!!!! I had the car keys in my purse so they couldn't have gone to the car. THEY WENT IN THE GROCERY STORE to look for me. I don't know what to do. I know there is a gunman in the store with my family.. with my baby. I had never in my life even contemplated a horror like this. I head towards the store, why I don't know, because I just can't wait for them not knowing. As I turn to approach the store a man in black stands in the sidewalk in front of the grocery store, he is holding a duffel bag, he shakes his head "no" at me. I don't know if he is warning me or if he is an accomplice or what. I turn around and fall on the ground in convulsive sobs. I am helpless and terrified and I can't get to me child.

A moment later a car pulls over in front of the Blockbuster. An older man gets out and helps me up. He says "Are you looking for your daughter and your husband?" How does he know that?! I am suspicious of everyone, I am paranoid. "yes" I sob. He says "I know where they are" and takes my hand and starts trying to lead me toward the grocery store. I'm freaking out and feeling like an animal being dragged toward a slaughter house. "no there is a gunman in there!" I shout. "No there is not." he calmly replies. Then my mind is spinning.. there's not? was it a fake gun... who is this man? is he in cahoots?

Just then to our left we see two policemen slowly walking through the parking lot toward the store with their guns raised. SHIT. This shit is about to go down and my family is in there. There is a gunman. This is true. This is happening.
As they pass the cars I see Kid and Mr F crouched and hiding in the parking lot. I am both relieved and terrified. They are safe... but they are not safe there. The cops see them and let them run to me. We were then locked into a coffee shop to wait it out. I felt like I would go into labor or have a heart attack or both. I have never been under so much stress and anguish in my life... including during Kid's seizures. Knowing that something terrible is happening, or fearing that it will, and not being able to stop it is the worst feeling in the world.

No one was injured that day. The gunman fled on foot. He was never found.
I had 3 episodes of early labor in the weeks that followed. My blood pressure rose 30 points.

I tried to get over my fear and go back to that store. I began crying uncontrollably in the parking lot. It has been over a year and I have never been back to that complex. Ever.

***********************************************************

I completely forgot to give you Mr F's take... maybe he'll be kind enough to put it in the comments.
But yes he and Kid did enter the grocery store during the holdup. They were right in front of the gunman and Mr F did some fast thinking of his own and fled with Kid.

51 comments:

Torey said...

oh mrs. f!!!!! i am so traumatized for you! i totally understand never going back to that grocery store, or the whole strip mall. thank god you were all ok!!!!

t

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! What a horrific story. Thank goodness both you and Mr. F can keep your head in a bad situation. I can certainly sympathize with your lack of desire to return to the scene of the trauma.

*hugs* for you and Kid, Mrs. F. How did you get off of being put on bed rest? Or were you put on it later?

Mrs Furious said...

thanks torey :)



Michelline,
I never was put on bedrest. I have pretty low blood pressure to start so even raised up 30 points it was still normal. I thought the fact that it went up that much might indicate a problem... but they didn't. there were days I was lying on the couch thinking I can't take much more I'm going to have a heart attack and I could just feel my blood pounding...
I went to the hospital quite a few times and was monitored and given the injection to stop contractions but since my cervix was never dialating they just told me to take it easy. They did say I should stop doing pilates after I had been to the hospital twice in one week in mid December. I will say I used Midwives and they try to be a little more laid back than the Drs when possible.

Amy said...

Wow. I probably wouldn't have gone back either.

I once stopped a car theft, and looking back it was a really stupid move on my part! Don't think I'd have the balls to do it now.

Anonymous said...

I know everyone has their share of traumas and difficulties, but it seems like you're family has endured more than your share. Hopefully the Furiouses have reached their lifetime quota of heartache and only good things are in store for the future! Stay strong!

Erin said...

That is completely, and absolutely terrifying. I started to cry when I read your post, I can't even imagine how you felt.

Mrs Furious said...

amy,
"I once stopped a car theft, and looking back it was a really stupid move on my part!"
that is CRAZY!

gigs,
tell me about it! Last year I was pretty much at my breaking point.. how much more could possibly have gone wrong?!? This year has been much better :) Plus I did learn that I could endure a lot of stress and keep going (and not divorce Mr F)... which I guess is worth something!

Mrs Furious said...

Erin,
Mr F and I had completely different reactions. Because I couldn't see what was happening my version of what was happening was based on what I believed could happen... he knew what was happening so he was less traumatized. I think it took him a while to figure out.. that it didn't matter to me in the end that everything worked out... I couldn't get over what I thought might be happening... because in those moments that is what I believed was true.

Mrs Furious said...

gigs,

I just realized who you are! Thanks for commenting :)

Julie said...

I am stunned and shocked for you. Oh my God, this scares the hell out of me.

Yes, indeed, what a year you have had. what a story for the baby book. Seriously, I am so sorry that you and your family went through such a horrific thing. And to be pregnant. Thankfully, you all made it out of this okay.

It is the 'what ifs' that kill me...what must have been racing through your mind during all of this.

I was watching The Nine during that time too so I can imagine what you must have been thinking.

I am grateful you are here because not to sound really sappy, but you and your blog make my world a more fun and better place. I was just actually talking to my husband about the little community within your blog and how great it is and supportive, etc.

Take care of yourself, Mrs. F.

Torey said...

Ever since I started reading the blog, I talk about it all the time. I always say things like "well Mrs. F said that. . ."

So I am glad you're here as well.

And for the record, I was insane when I was pregnant and I'm pretty sure this would have pushed me over the edge.

Mrs Furious said...

Julie,

Awww... thanks... and I couldn't agree more about the community of commenters :)

we might have been the only two people watching The Nine! And I'm glad you saw it so you can appreciate how far I was willing to take the idea of an armed robbery going bad.

Mrs Furious said...

Torey,

lol... thanks!

and really the only thing that could have been worse is if it had happened within the first two months postpartum... holy mother of god I would have LOST MY MIND.. permanently!

soapbox girl said...

Holy mother of god. That's truly terrifying. I'm so sorry this happened to you, but also amazed and thankful that no one got hurt. The emotional trauma had to be terrifying for a lot of people, especially the clerks who had a gun pointed directly at them. Can you imagine?

soapbox girl said...

Oops, "Holy mother of god" wasn't on there when I started typing--I swear! :)

Mrs Furious said...

soap box girl,

when we went back in to get my purse... they asked me if I wanted to keep shopping and I said "no, I just want to get out of here" and a cashier was standing there and said "I don't blame you".. she was obviously upset.. but shockingly, to me, the store didn't let anyone go home! I couldn't believe it. You could not pay me enough to stay after that!

Anonymous said...

Mrs. F., I read you every day, and find you even more humorous than than the Mr., but don't tell him I said that!

Heather said...

I posted a comment but I'm not sure where it went.

This story was absolutely terrifying. In a side note, it was extremely well written -- I could actually imagine pregnant Mrs F crouching in the dairy aisle!

But overall, horrifying. It's understandable that it's been hard to shake. :(

Mr Furious said...

Whew. Just reading all of that has my adreneline pounding...

While the events of that day are clearly the most fucked up thing that's ever happened to me, in many ways I have been able to look back and feel fairly distanced from it. I continue to shop at the store, and I made it through the event and immediate aftermath with relative calm.

No doubt because my brain has utterly suppressed what happened...

As Mrs. F mentioned, keep in mind as you read that all of this happened much more quickly than the story can be told. The whole robbery was probably over in less than 2 or 3 minutes, and each of our direct interactions with it were over in a matter of seconds...

So, this is at the end of a morning of errands, and our last stop of the day. We need a couple of quick items from the grocery store, and Kid and I are going to grab a video. We park directly in front of the grocery store in one of the "Pregnant Mom" spots—this is key. Mrs. F is going to grab the groceries and Kid and I head to the video store (around the corner from the grocery store).

We finish up in Blockbuster, and head back towards the car. I expect Mrs. F to be waiting for us. She's not. So we turn towards the grocery store and head in...

Here's where my being a sweettooth/pig saves us—as we walk up, I ask Kid, "will they have cookies or donut holes?" See, this store has a stand at the front with free coffee and a thing of snacks. I always need to check it and grab a bite.

We walk through the first glass door, past the carts, etc, and then through the second door and enter the store. The food is in a buffet-style thing with a big dome you lift up, and Kid and I are already going for it. I am standing there with one hand opening the lid and the other grabbing the tongs and I realize something is up.

Not ten feet away from me in the first register lane there is some commotion. There's a heated exchange between the cashier and a customer. I watch. The cashier is yelling, screaming "EXCUSE ME! EXCUSE ME!!" What the hell is going on?

All of sudden this guy is waving a gun, and people are scattering in to the aisles. People in line are momentarilly frozen (like me) and then everybody starts hitting the deck.

I'm standing there in plain view, ten feet from a guy with a gun, with my hand literally in the cookie jar.

With. My. Daughter.

I immediately push Ruby behind me. And then begin to process what is happening. (remember, we're talking a few seconds here).

We're stuck. There is nowhere to go. The automatic door has closed behind us, and does not open from inside. The exit is on the other side of the coffee thing and would mean going towards the gunman. Ducking does us no good. There is nothing between the gun and us to get behind.

Then, the door opens. Before the next people walk in, I am moving. Keeping Ruby behind me I back out the door. I think one guy walks in past me, but I grab a mom and child coming in next and turn them around. I don't remember what I said, but whatever it was, or the look on my face, must have been convincing...they followed us out the outer door...

I clearly remember reaching into my pocket to grab my phone to call 911 as soon as we were outside, but deciding, "no way I'm getting shot in the back for calling the cops." I scooped Ruby up and RAN for the car.

Total distance from the donuts to the car was maybe 30-40 yards(?) and I covered it quickly, but I was braced for the worst as soon as I had turned my back to the gun. Awful, sickening feeling.

Once the van is between us and the store I realize, "Shit. I don't have the keys!"

Then I realize, "My wife is in the store."

What am I going to do? Now we're stuck again. Our car is in the very first spot, we can't go anywhere without exposing ourselves. I can't do anything about Mrs. F because I have Kid. There's a man getting into the SUV parked nose-to-nose with our car. For a moment I contemplate piling in with him. Shoving Kid in with him and me doing something else. I don't know what...

For a moment we make eye contact through his windshield. We are clearly hiding behind the car, but he doesn't know why...the moment passes. He backs out and drives away.

We are stuck again.

I am franticallly trying to warn people in e parking lot not to go in, and I realize I have to get Kid further away. We crouch-run between the cars...

As I am doing this, I see police cars pulling up all around the outskirts of the parking lot. Cops are coming with their guns drawn. Now we are in a cross-fire situation.

The first two oncoming cops and Kid and I get to the same spot, and I tell them "One gunman. Older black guy. Short. Red shirt. A hat."

"Keep going." one responds, "Get out of here."

There's a second group of cops waving me towards them, back in the direction of the Blockbuster.

At that moment I see Mrs. F, and she sees us, I don't know how or why she's there, but there she is, safe outside of the store, there's some guy with her, who I assume is a cop, and we are all hustled around the corner into the coffee shop.

It turns out "the guy" is the same man that was "helping" Mrs F. He was the man in the SUV who saw us hiding behind the car. He was unaware of the robbery and had simply thought we were hiding...

--

As it turns out, the amount of time it took Mrs. F to circumnavigate the whole damn strip mall was the same time it took Kid and I to make our escape, work our way through the parking lot and in the interim, the gunman left. He must have been right behind me on his way out of the store, because he was long gone by the time the cops got up there.

He fled on foot and was never apprehended. For that to have happened with the cops "closing the net" he must have left moments after me.

Crazy fucking shit.

I can hardly type...That's the way I remember it.

Mr Furious said...

"don't tell him I said that!"

Ouch.

Mr Furious said...

Did I say "relative calm"?

As I sit here totally adrenalized with a gigantic pit in my stomach, and after just re-telling the story I realize it was not exactly a "calm" situation, but I have been able to deal with it since.

A lifetime of repression skills goes a long way.

Shirls said...

wow, honestly what can a person say about any of that to make it better? all I've got is "sorry", sorry it happened to you, sorry it has caused so much stress, sorry your family had to endure it, just sorry.

katieo said...

Holy Cow. You win "most entertaining in a freakishly-horrific-way" blog today.

All I can say is I'm glad both of you are not writing about the day you lost Ruby, or the day the stress pushed Mrs. F's pregnancy to the point of losing the baby, etc. Hey, and glad Mr. and Mrs. are even here to write!
Stuff like that is SO jolting, it's got to be cathartic to write about it, even though it probably isn't easy.


(oh and Mr. F, you just gave me a reason to never turn down those free samples!)

What grocery store was it?

Anonymous said...

Sorry Mr. F.! I do find you extremely funny and informative! I just relate to so many of Mrs. F.'s stories... might be a "mom" thing... No offense intended-you remain my political barometer!

Deb said...

So, first off, I'm crying all over again, and it has nothing to do with the fact that my first comment disappeared and didn't post. It's because Mr. F's post scared the bejeezus out of me all over again, and I'm just a giant empathetic mush who can totally picture her own husband and son in that situation. UGH. I have to go lay down.

Well, as I said in my magically disappearing post, I'm so impressed with your ability to think calmly in a tough situation. Both of you. Not to mention your ability and willingness to save other people while getting your own out of the path of danger.

I hope 2007 is a great year for the F's. It sounds like you deserve it.

P.O.M. said...

Holy Shizzzoly. That is crazy and so scary. It makes perfect sense that it takes a long time to get over something like that. I'm so glad you all made it through that.

Mrs Furious said...

gigs,

I won't tell!
of course it is nothing he doesn't already know ;)





everyone else... I'll be back... must go to the much overhyped dance preformance!!!

Avery Gray said...

Oh, good Lord! I'd have been a wreck! An absolute wreck. How you stayed so calm is beyond me. I'm so glad everyone's okay, and sorry that you had to go through that. Hopefully time will heal the wounds.

kenady said...

Holy shit! There is too much craZy shit going on this f-ed up world. And it seems that you and your family have had your fair share! I certainly hope that's it for craZy shit for a while!!

My heart goes out to you. I hope this post has brought what you need, closure. And I don't think I could ever go back to that grocery store. I would just relive the moment over and over again. Staying far away would be the best option for me.

I hate to say it, because it is sooo cliche, but time heals all wounds. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes a year and in some cases it takes decades. But someday it won't hurt as much to think about it or to tell the story. I know that probably doesn't help, but that's all I've got for ya, kid! You're in our thoughts as you navigate through this time in your life.

Preppy Mama said...

Oh My God. I don't know how I would have reacted. I think I might have just laid down on the floor. How did you even remember the show and what to do? Thank God the two of you were able to think quickly.
How scary. To be honest with you, I would never go back to that store, but I don't deal well with trauma.

Julie said...

I know I probably shouldn't be laughing about anything, but I just imagined the old guy from the car who saw Mr. F. and Kid crouched behind their car and comes upon a hysterical Mrs. F., flailing on the ground and he thinks you are just upset because you're family is playing hide n' seek with you and you can't find them. I don't know why that just made me laugh. I guess I tend to crack jokes or think of funny things at inappropriate times. I did leave an earlier more thoughtful post, too.

Mrs Furious said...

wow there are a lot of comments!

Okay I'm going to try to address everyone without being too redundant... this will not be in order!

gigs,
don't feel bad.. my blog has blown his out of the water since day one.. he knows it and is proud of me for it.

julie,
even in the craziness I thought that.. I was like "what does he just think I'm a hysterical pregnant woman who lost her family in the parking lot?!.. like he sees this everyday?" He was so calm and so nice.. sorry I had to think you might be a killer for a minute Mr. Nice Old Stranger Man!

Preppy Mama,
fortunately I think I was watching the show the night before. Not that it really taught me anything other than .. when people have guns and they get scared or lose control of the situation they may shoot you. Now if I wasn't pregs maybe I would have laid down.. but I just couldn't.. there was no part of me that could stay there.

Mrs Furious said...

Heather,
thanks... when I have these more intense posts it is hard for me to take the time to check and see if it flows well or even makes sense.. so I'm glad I did a good job of getting the story across.

Shirls,
thank you for your kind words.

katieo,
"You win "most entertaining in a freakishly-horrific-way" blog today."
I do try ;)
I'm realizing I have a bizarre amount of material in this category...

Mrs Furious said...

P.O.M.,
crazy is right and I'm never going back. As soon as it was over Mr F wanted to finish shopping and I was like "aaah...no... we are getting the hell out of here!"

Deb,
"I'm so impressed with your ability to think calmly in a tough situation"

I'm not sure collapsing on the sidewalk sobbing would be considered *calm* ;)

Avery Gray,
oh believe me as soon as it was over I was a wreck people in the coffee shop were very concerned!

Kenady,
"I certainly hope that's it for craZy shit for a while!!"

word to that!

Kiki said...

Did Kid realize what was going on? How does she remember it? When I was a child I had some pretty scary things happen to me, moments I will never forget. My mom to this day can't believe I remember as vividly as I do. Time does heal wounds but the mind never forgets.

I am relieved for your family that you all were safe, reading your story was like being there and I felt myself holding my breath ... I wouldn't go back either!!!

Mrs Furious said...

Kiki,

she doesn't remember much. Mr F felt confident she didn't see it happen. But as soon as we got home she was using our phone as a gun.. so it is possible she saw the cops with theirs out. Unfortunately I "had" to process all this in front of her so she heard what happened.
I wouldn't let Mr F take Kid to that shopping plaza for a while since I didn't want it to scare her. She goes there now and has never mentioned it again.
I had her see a great therapist who didn't feel Kid was holding any of this in or affected by it and thought she was fine. I did this after our car accident last year too. Having been a therapist, I do know that she might internalize stress and not feel comfortable sharing it with me and act out in other ways. So when all this big time stressful stuff happened I had her evalutated to be sure she was handling everything. She's fine now.

and I'm sorry to hear you had some hard times :(

Julie said...

Whoa, there was a car accident last year, too?!

Robin said...

Mrs. F, I am so sorry you and your family went through that. It is so upsetting. I hope that sharing the story helps you get past it a little.

I, too, am one of those "what if" type people. Some situations scare me more just by what I know "could" happen than what did happen. And I replay those things over and over in my head.

Thanks again for sharing. Like one of your other commenters, I find myself telling my husband, "Mrs. F said ...." Your blog is a welcome break from my SAHM day to day craziness.

MommyTime said...

I can't even think of an exclamation that's, as Son would say, HUNORMOUS enough to express what I feel reading this. I have nightmares about my kids' safety without ever having been through anything even remotely like this -- so you must be a pretty damn strong person to have gotten through it with only the relatively minor consequence of being unable to shop there anymore! "Horrifying" just doesn't seem nearly strong enough. Also, I can't thank you enough for sharing this because I would have been right straight heading to my cell phone for 911, and it would never have occurred to me that this might result in getting shot even more quickly...so thank you for being so brave about sharing such trauma and managing (in true Mrs F fashion) to teach me something useful in the process.

Hugs is all I can offer. Not nearly enough, but at least something.

Mrs Furious said...

julie,

yeah. we (me pregs, Kid, and my neice) were hit by an idiot who had just gone to a Diary Queen and was eating and driving while turning across oncoming traffic (me). Everything seemed minor-ish. Our car was damaged on several panels (Kid's side) and it took 3 weeks to get it back.. so not totally minor. Mostly they were obviously concerned about me being pregs. Kid probably had the hardest "hit" and wasn't braced for it as I was. The traumatic thing for Kid was that we had 2 fire trucks, 2 ambulances, and 2 police cars respond to the scene. I don't know if it was a slow day or what.. but it was loud and overwhelming!
The other thing is.. Kid had her first seizure 40 hours later. I am told this is unrelated. But I will say she had her 2nd after falling down the stairs... and both those coincidences have been hard to swallow.

Mrs Furious said...

Robin,
" Your blog is a welcome break from my SAHM day to day craziness"

For me too :)




Mommytime,
I'm sure that is not sanctioned advice! But it seems to me that if people are already being shot call 911... if it is just a hold up you are probably safest when not provoking an unstable gunman!

justme said...

holy mother fucking shit ! I am so glad you and your family are safe. god bless both your quick thinking.

Deb said...

You collapsed and CRIED. I would have collapsed, cried and vomited all over myself.

Mrs Furious said...

Feener,
well... if I had had slower thinking I might have waited long enough to realize that I wasn't actually in danger... but what would have been the fun in that?!?



Deb,
lol... for some reason that image reminds me of my dog... except you probably wouldn't then feel compelled to "clean up" after yourself.

Amy said...

wow! i too was near tears reading that especially when you're talking about your baby in that store after you'd already gotten out okay! As a mother, I am now terrified by things that would never have phazed me before. It's like we're just dangling our hearts out there waiting for some wolf to come snap them up! I'm sorry that happened to you, and I also hope that you did find some healing in writing it down and send it out to us. thanks.

Unknown said...

That must have been so awful! I am so glad you made the right choices and fled when you did, as well as your husband! Geesh. I would never go back to the complex either. eek.

Mrs Furious said...

Amy,
yes... that is exactly how I feel since having kids. When we were in Disney I actually questioned whether it was responsible of me to go on bigger rides.. what if there was a horrible accident?!?!



Cara,
I was wondering if I wrote this if I would be able to go back... but no.. the more I think about it the more I know it is just not necessary to go through those feelings again. Thankfully Whole Foods is NOT in that complex or I would have a problem!

Kiki said...

Mrs. Furious, I am so glad that you all were safe, I'm glad to hear that Kid was sheltered from the full brunt of what happened...a true testament to you and Mr. F as parents!!! My life has been an adventure, I am grateful that my family always surrounded me with lots of love and support.
I adore your blog because despite my lack of child bearing, reading your blog does not make me feel out of place or uncomfortable, instead I laugh, hold my breath, shed some tears and enjoy each post. Thank you for putting it out there and for making me feel welcome...no matter my child lacking status. :)

Mrs Furious said...

Oh Kiki,
you are always welcome :)

As much as I am of course a mom... it is a funny thing... sometimes I stop and am struck with the awareness of "Jesus Christ I'm a MOM.. how the hell did this happen!?!" I've been doing it for some time now and yet it is still so surreal!

And I have to say that starting this blog is the first thing I have done for me since I had kids and has really helped me reclaim myself and get my identity back as an individual and not just a mom. So I am glad that you and the other child-free readers come by and comment and can relate to me. It has really helped me to have something in my life that isn't ALWAYS about the kids!! :)

Kiki said...

Thanks Mrs. F...you really are great and I will keep coming by. I enjoy all your posts, kid centric or not. I am an auntie to many and it is my best role, I treasure that my sisters share their children with me and allow me to share their lives...

Again, it is always great to stop by your blog, its well written and always thought provoking. Thanks again.

Mrs Furious said...

Kiki

thanks :)

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