This topic reminded me of a childhood incident that I had at a very early age. It was at least two years before I ever started school so I'd have to guess around 4 years old. I remember it vividly, but, not for the reasons one would think. My mother was a very insecure person and she was sure that no one would care if she was even missing. With that thought in mind one day she decided that she wanted to see how I would react if she just disappeared. She wasn't very far away, in fact she was hiding in the closet, but she wanted to see if I would panic. To give you some idea about how I am who I am, I remember getting up after a nap and looking for my mother. I never panicked that she was gone very far so I sat on a high stool and just watched out the window waiting for her to come home.
She was not mad, but, upset about the fact that not only did I not panic, I was sitting there singing and swinging my feet in a very casual manner. I really do remember how I was feeling and what I was thinking. I did wonder where she was and how long it might be before she returned, but, I wasn't at all upset. Time really meant nothing to me as I couldn't even tell time at that point. She mentioned that situation many times in my youth. I guess it was an early start on my path to independence, but, I wasn't scared about it at all, just curious about where she was. That little experiment sort of backfired on her. She never tried it again.
That story is true and I'm afraid that it didn't paint a very positive picture of her, but, rest assured she was always loving and caring to both myself and my sister (even though I didn't consider my sister to be a necessity) and my Father. To her nothing was better, more talented or smarter then her family, not herself, but, she was sure proud of the rest of us. She never had a good reason to feel that way about herself, she was a wonderful person and a great mother.
(P.S.: We need a dog emoji on here as well.) 
