292: Missoula Maze

We went to the Missoula Maze this afternoon and of course Lex got lost in the maze.

Once I realized he had escaped from the older boys up front, as quickly as I could I made it to the lookout so I could try to locate him in the maze down below. As I was scanning the trails I heard "Hey, Mom! Hey Mom, what are you looking for in there?" I looked across to the far corner of the maze and there was Lex, sitting way up top, just beneath the flag on the little corner straw bale tower waving to me holding his little map to the maze.  After he saw me he climbed down from the little corner tower, sat down (still on the top of the maze) and continued to try to tell me about his map.  We couldn't hear each other very well since we were so far apart, so instead of staying there so I could get him, he got up and began walking across the tops of the bales. (Yes, I'm choosing to believe this was because he couldn't hear me.)  This got the attention of one the official sorts of maze monitoring people who then jumped up and retrieved him.

But since it was Lex and not a normal four-year-old he didn't get worried or start crying and actually never believed he was lost at all. He explained to me very clearly he knew where he was the whole time. He also apparently knew where I was most of the time.  I told him he still couldn't run off, and he couldn't climb up on top of the maze. The rules were you just followed the map to find your way out.

He just sighed and shook his head, "Mom, I can't follow this thing. I don't know how to read you know."

Sometimes my lack of logic really just makes him crazy.