Last night at 1:15 a.m. I experienced the scariest moment of my life to date. I hear Luke, our middle son, yelling "Benjamin!" I can tell he can't find him, which isn't good since they share a room. They are inseparable. Ben meets Luke downstairs and Luke tells Ben, "I can't find Benjamin." I am still in bed and think he probably just didn't see him in his bed. So, Ben carries our sleepy-eyd Luke back upstairs. I am at the foot of the stairs now waiting to hear that Benjamin is in bed. INSTEAD, Ben leaves Luke in bed and is walking around upstairs. I am now dashing up the stairs and Ben says, "I have just started looking, but he's not in his bed." My thought: he must be UNDER his bed. Nope, not in the playroom, not in the guest room, not in the family room. I ask Ben what time he saw him last. As if that is a question any parent wants to ask. I am SCARED TO DEATH. We usually set an alarm to keep the good guys in and the bad guys out, but we didn't set it last night-not good. The doors are padlocked except the garage door. Not in the garage-thank goodness. My thoughts are wandering everywhere. I am calculating the amount of time that has passed and if somehow he got out earlier in the night and we didn't know the odds are NOT good. Ben is calm-CAN YOU IMAGINE!!!!!! He calmly suggests we check our bedroom. I am pretty sure he's not in there since we all got up and were walking around. You won't believe it...Benjamin wrapped himself in my bathrobe and was sound asleep on the floor right beside our bed. I was so relieved! We just laughed. My chest was sore from my heart pounding and more than anything, I was thankful that we had our little guy. Have you ever "lost" a child? Perhaps you have left them somewhere. Do tell....
photo courtesy of Flickr
7 comments:
Oh, Andi...I have been there more times than I wish to recall. When she was about 2, maybe 3, we were unloading the car after a beach trip and she was playing inside. I started looking for her everywhere and then ran outside to the street...terrified! I finally found her in our closet hiding in the laundry basket under a pile of clothes. We had a long talk about hiding from mommy! Let me not forget my parent's house and racing outside praying not to find her in the pool, Steinmart when she was "right there beside me until I turned around"...and so on! It is the scariest feeling ever! But I am so thankful that you found your sweet boy safe and sound!
Oh Andi! There's NOTHING more frightening than not being able to find a child. Unreal. I'm so sorry, but so very happy your story has a happy ending. Thank you Lord!
Hugs!
Kat
(BTW - I get fresh turkey breast at Publix. One breast. I put it in my crockpot sprinkle a little pepper on it and then add one can of cream of chicken and mushroom soup, undiluted. No water. Just cover and cook on medium. The soup makes the gravy. So yummy)
Oh my word!! Of course VERY scary!! I know that was extremely stressful. :( I remember once at Brookwood Mall, in the bookstore, I turned around for literally 5 seconds (maybe less!!), and Andrew had vanished. !!!! I kept asking people if they had seen a little boy...and after several disapproving looks from several people, one lady finally said she had seen him looking out the back window. Whew!! I of course thought that Drew would absolutely KILL me...horrible!!! But was just RELIEVED that he was ok. I had only "lost" him for about 2 minutes, but it certainly felt a LOT longer!!
It was ONLY a quiet ride home b/c my feeling were so hurt! Had I been mad, I would have probably let her have it. I was just so incredibly sad! The quieter I was the more upset she knew I was. Perhaps I was being a little manipulative:)
teacher coming out..."feelings"
Hey! I have tried to call you this morning but I couldn't find your number. Send me your email address. I have a queston. Mine is kthompson@graceba.net
Thanks!
We used to leave Jeane Carroll at church all the time. She laughs about it now, but people would call and say, JC is standing outside..have you left her ? We had four drivers and everyone thought the other had her..Great communication...
Post a Comment