My problematic shopping habit saved my son from a dangerous situation

"If your kids take the bus, establish a relationship with a store near the bus stop," Mum-of-three Jordana says after learning the hard way.

One rainy Friday afternoon, I received a phone call from an unknown number. Normally, I don't answer a private number, but so close to the pick-up time, my intuition told me to do it. 

On the other end was a familiar voice: "Jords, it's Talia from Honour. I have your Mason!"

It was the owner of my favourite local clothing store. My heart dropped; it was my six-year-old's first time on the bus without his brother, and he'd been forgotten (sort of!) what to do. 

On Fridays, my MIL picks up the boys from the bus stop; it's their time. I love it, they love it, and she loves it. Everyone wins. 

So I couldn't understand this call. My MIL is way more on top of her schedule than I am. We had confirmed that morning that Mason would be on the bus while my eldest had an after-school activity. 

All of this was racing through my brain as I flung myself and my toddler in the car.

I called my MIL to let her know I was already in the car to get him and not to worry - it wasn't her fault the bus had defied the laws of Friday afternoon traffic and made it to the bus stop well before it should have.

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He thought he'd been forgotten 

As I drove up the road, it felt like an eternity. How scared my six-year-old would have felt, getting off the bus without a familiar face to greet him. 

I raced into the store to see Mason drawing and chatting as if this had been the plan all along. 

Now that I knew he was safe, I felt it was only fair to peruse the store while I got the low-down on Mason's brave bus adventure.

Talia, the store owner, told me of Mason's brave 10-step adventure from the bus stop to her store.

"The beautician next door could hear crying," she told me as I flicked through the clothes racks. "She came out to see him slumped at the bus stop saying, 'My mum forgot me'."

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Teach your kids your number, not the passcode!

When she asked him if he knew his mum's number, he answered very proudly, "It's..." I won't say what it was, but it was only four digits. 

She soon realised he was divulging my phone passcode, not my mobile number - that's one thing I need to drill into him after this incident! Talia continued to tell me that when the beautician asked if he wanted to come inside and wait, he looked at the blacked-out doors and said, "No, I'm going to stay at the bus stop." 

Hooray! A win in the stranger danger column. 

The beautician noticed his uniform and told him she would check with the lady next door. She knew there was a possibility that she knew the mummy with a four-digit mobile number. As she said this, Talia popped her head out. Mason was slightly relieved; he didn’t know why, but she looked familiar. Mason was familiar to her, too.

He gained some confidence as he walked away from the bus stop and towards the store. 

She said, "As he approached her shop front, he became less frightened and more confident."

When she asked his mum’s name, she immediately knew who he was. 

"Do you want to come inside, or do you want to wait at the door?" she asked, knowing that he might still be apprehensive about going in alone. 

Without saying a word, he walked through the door and sat on the front door bench. He'd often been slumped on it as I tried on clothes and chatted. 

Once Mason knew I was on my way, he began chatting with the other assistant and even helped her close out for the day. 

A few minutes later, I arrived out of breath. Mason looked up at me; his face was beaming, but I could tell he'd been crying. He said proudly, "I knew where I was."

Rather than waiting alone, he went into his mum's favourite store. Source: supplied

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"It's your favourite shop"

After hugging and smothering him (and likely embarrassing him), I asked, "How did you know to come here?"

Without batting an eyelid, "Mama, you always come here! It's your favourite shop." 

We all burst into laughter. He wasn't wrong. 

If anyone were to look at my wardrobe, they would see more than a few sets from Honour hanging there. I now look at them with a new sense of pride. Those pieces helped my son when he was lost. 

Weeks later, Mason has no emotional scars from the incident, while I keep replaying hypotheticals over and over. 

I was lucky. That day could have ended very differently as it has for many families.

My advice: If your kids take the bus, establish a relationship with a store near the bus stop. Get to know the owners and provide them with your phone number. If life throws a curve ball and you are running late. 

Now I have to change my passcode and teach my son my actual phone number! 

At the end of the day, I'm just glad I could say to my husband, "See how important shopping consistently is?"

Originally published as My problematic shopping habit saved my son from a dangerous situation