Stranded 2

Writing about my mom forgetting me in the first Stranded post reminded me of another incident when she left me behind…..in a foreign country.

On a group tour in Thailand one year, the bus brought us to this gigantic mall-like place where they sell local spices and ingredients. The whole busload came down so there were alot of us here and there in the shop. Being a young teenager, I stuck with my mom the entire time and eventually got bored. Standing a few feet away from her as she bargained and chitchatted with the counter lady, I turned around to watch the other counters.

It was a few minutes later when I turned back to my mom, only to find her missing. I shrugged inwardly, thinking she must be just a few counters away. So I walked around slowly and started to notice that the group I was touring with were getting less and less. Thinking that some of them have gotten bored and went back on the bus, I continued my search for my shopaholic mom. Going completely around the entire shop, my worry grew steadily as my mom stayed missing.

I peered through the glass front door and saw that the bus was still there so I didn’t start to panic yet. Walking a few feet away from the door, I heard running footsteps and saw my mom bursting through the door.

Apparently, after buying her stuff, she looked at her watch and hurried to the bus. Sitting in her seat, she started to put her purchases away and heard the tour guide asking if everyone was on board. My mom nodded and said ‘yes’ along with the group as she finally leaned comfortably into her seat. She glanced at the seat next to her and only then did she realize that she had left her daughter behind. She yelled at the tour guide to wait as she flew down the bus steps to get me.

I still can’t believe to this day how my mom can actually not realize she had left her daughter behind. Suffice to say, I was not happy with her for that entire day.