I remember getting lost from my Dad in Kroger’s once. We were on the cereal aisle and I was desperately lobbying for the purchase of some Cocoa Puffs. I mean, who doesn’t love the chocolatey-goodness of Cocoa Puffs, right? Well, apparently my Dad didn’t because in spite of my best argumentative efforts, he told me I didn’t need that “sugary cereal” and instead he grabbed a box of Cheerios and put them in the shopping cart. The worst part is that they weren’t even Honey Nut Cheerios; they were the nasty plain kind. “Come on, we need to pick up some milk,” he said. I was so upset at not getting my way that I pretended I didn’t hear him. “I don’t want to follow you to the milk aisle,” I think to myself. I just stood there transfixed on the box of Cocoa Puffs that I knew I couldn’t have. As an act of protest, I decided to stand there until my Dad came back to get me.

The only problem was that my Dad never turned around. He just kept walking down the aisle, made the turn toward the milk and disappeared. This really messed up my brilliantly conceived act of defiance. “He’ll come back,” I thought. So I stood there. And I waited. And I waited. Still staring at the box of Cocoa Puffs. This kid walked by, giving me a weird look. “I don’t care,” I thought. “I’m not moving. He’ll come back.”

After what seemed like an eternity, I got scared. “He didn’t really leave me, did he? No, he wouldn’t do that. My Dad loves me. Plus, Child Protective Services would throw him in jail. But still…he wouldn’t leave me, would he?” I picture my Dad arriving home without me, telling my Mom, “Well, he wanted Cocoa Puffs, so I left him at the store.” I picture my Mom shrugging her shoulders and saying, “Oh well.” I envision them renting out my room to compliant little boys who loved plain old sugarless Cheerios.

I thought about all of that and I started to cry. Not like a little tear dribbling down my cheek, either; I mean I started bawling and sobbing out loud, snot bubbles emerging from my nostrils. Another kid walked by and looked at me like I was from another planet. In my mind, I yell at him: “Leave me alone! You’re not getting my room!” In a very real way, I started to lose it.

Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see my Dad. He bent down and put his arms around me and asked “Why are you crying?”

“Because I thought you had left me.”

I’ll never forget what my Dad told me. “Jason, I would never leave you.” He told me he’d been watching me from the end of the aisle the whole time. “I was waiting for you to come look for me. You’ll never be lost if you’re with me.”

The lament rises from each of us: I thought you had left me.

And the reply comes from the great beyond: Child, you’ll never be lost if you’re with me.