Chapter 2: Mischief Begins

A year after being born, my baby self was able to stand. And not only that, but I was able to stumble a bit before the cautious and waiting arms swooped me off the ground. Sometimes I like to believe that babies learn to crawl and walk only to try and escape from their entrapment. But, even if it were like this, it wouldn't exactly work out, what with the streets and neighbors and everything else. Someone would probably catch you before you could even reached the door. And so it is, as you develop into an actual little human being, that you learn to accept the hand of fate that you have been dealt. At least I had the privilege of having two caring parents, not one parent or none. Nor a parent who was reckless or even a drunk. My parents cared, and still do, about the well being of all of their children.

Nevertheless, as a baby I often sought the endless excitement of the outside world (at least the world outside my crib) which often resulted in fuss and worry. Needless to say my parents have some weird baby stories to share whenever the occasion demands it. I'll retell you one such story now, to the best of my ability.

It was a warm late-summer-early-fall kind of day, clouds in the sky and leaves on the ground. Seeking adventure, and finding the perfect opportunity for escape when my mom had left me under the care of my oldest brother, who was immersed within his video games, I scrambled off into the hallway. No one there, yet. I ventured further past the kitchen, where my mom was cleaning dishes and fortunately did not hear me scuffling away. As I approached the back door, which was left open most of the day due to the amount of use it experiences, I found it to be, as expected, wide open. Perfect. I found my way outside and decided to turn the way which led to the street. This would be the largest adventure yet! I could feel the adrenaline building up (well I doubt that actually happened. I'm not even sure whether toddlers can have coherent thoughts) and made my way along the driveway. What may only seem like a mere couple of seconds of walking to you or me now, was like running a mile for this little toddler. But before I even made it halfway across, I found my little tricycle! I mounted the vehicle and was now able to clear the way much more efficiently. At this point I'm sure my older brother had made it through another level within his video game. Anyways, I made it to the street in one piece, and paused to regain some composure. After all, biking a whole driveway on flat ground is quite an obstacle for someone who can barely walk that same distance.

I wouldn't stop there, however. An adventure is not exciting without some craziness involved. And so I biked into the street and started peddling. What an odd sight that must have been. Oh, and I must mention, before continuing, that I lived in Europe, Belgium no less, where everything is flat and green. And yes, that's where Belgian waffles and fries come from. If you haven't been there before, I highly recommend it; it is a very beautiful country. All of my relatives lived and still do live there, including my aunt, who lived on the same street as my family. So back to the oh-so-thralling experience of my babyhood (I daresay it's more exciting than any of yours... ha, just kidding), as I biked further than I had ever gone. When you are barely a toddler you are not worried about cars or any danger. You don't think, that's what parents are for. You just do. It being later in the day, on a weekend, in a small street in a small town, not much traffic passed through, thank goodness. Who knows, if it had, I might never have made it past babyhood, and I would never have been able to recount this super exciting story to you (well... whoever you are anyways). But there is still the obstacle of the neighbors, who have eagle-sharp eyes when it comes to watching for little children. I guess my aunt's eyes were ready for action as I cruised down the street, my little legs pumping faster than ever. As you might have guessed, she immediately ran out, and with her arms like wings she swooped me up (tricycle and all) and fussed about me, and oh why did I go out into the street? Did it even cross her mind that I might have wanted to escape reality? No, of course not.

That was the end of it then, as she brought me back home, safely in one piece. My mother was more than happy to see me and more than angry at my brother for letting me escape him. Let's just say he didn't play video games for several weeks after that. But I was left with the worst of it: no more little adventures and a story that would haunt me forever. But I guess I was able to recount it to you, and maybe you'll gain something from it.... just maybe.