We went to pick up EvieG from school and all was well. We brought everyone home and EvieG, along with Spark Plug wanted to play outside for a few minutes. Sure, no problem. I was right there, in a place with lots of windows. I could see them. I brought The Destroyer inside and was de-suiting her. Next thing I know, EvieG comes by the window. Alone. I asked her where Spark Plug had gone. She pointed down the fairway and told me that she had run off in that general direction. 

What?What?What?

I brought EvieG inside and barricaded them in the house. I got my boots and cell phone and headed out to find her. I was running and calling for her. Nothing. We are in a condo complex on a golf course and there is nothing but cedar trees, little ravines with run-off, condos lining the course and crescent shaped roads. She could have been anywhere among all of this.

I started to panic. I was sprinting and calling. I thought I heard her, but it was gusting and the wind was changing directions. All I could think about was that she could be anywhere among the flora and fauna, or worse, in the icy run-off somewhere.

I called 911. At this point I was running along one of the crescents. As I was speaking with police, I turned the corner and there she was. We ended the call and I took her home. 

The poor baby was crying and scared. She could hear me calling but was confused by how similar the surrounding landscape looked to our house. She kept telling me that she wanted to get away from the 'machines'. There is construction happening behind us and lots of diggers and bulldozers. She is a sensitive kid and I guess she didn't like the sound of the building.

I was freaked out and with my adrenaline, the elapsed amount of time of searching was probably about 10 minutes. It felt like an eternity. And it felt like I had just run a marathon.

I chose to write about this because these things happen to parents. Kids are curious or get scared and in the blink of an eye, they are gone. Running. I have not heard too many stories of this kind from a lot of parents my age, but many from my mom's generation. Is it that it is a subject people are uncomfortable talking about? Is it that people experience these crazy things but don't want to expose themselves in fear of being judged? Maybe. Or maybe these things don't happen to moms my age because they are on their kids all the time. I don't know.

I think at some point most parents experience a panic situation of some kind, whether the kid gets into something they shouldn't, or they wander off, or they get into some kind of trouble. My mom was telling me about the time when she was home with a 2 year old, an infant, and my brother who was 4 at the time was supposed to be playing nicely in the backyard sanbox. Instead he took off on his Big Wheel down a 4 lane road. And she had no idea he was even gone until a nice lady brought him back home. My mom opened the door to, "Is this little boy yours?" Wow. Or the time when my pal's sister ran off in a mall in Germany and they didn't speak German. Or the time when a friend's cousin got out of his car seat and into the driver's seat while his mom was buying some Coke and put the car in drive.

It made me feel better to hear that I wasn't the only one who has experienced this kind of situation. It still doesn't change the fact that you feel like a crappy, horrible mother. But these things can happen. It is life.

I don't have enough eyes or arms.

I know I did the right thing by calling 911. Hubby says it's kind of like Poison Control. When you call, it's never for anything good. But they are there to help. And it is not a bad thing to use it, if needed. My mom didn't have either the time my little brother climbed up to the highest cupboard to down a bottle of her prescription cough medicine. She drove him to the hospital to have his stomach pumped. I am thankful for these services.

Is this going to change the way I handle the Wee Ladies? Maybe a little, but not a lot. I will remember that I need to keep my eye on my toddlers more carefully when they are in the backyard. Every 30 seconds instead of every minute. But I will still let them play outside and explore. 

The cops ended up coming by to see if everything was alright. I knew they would and I am glad. He took some information and now I can say that I am officially in their database. Way to go, DDM.

Now I will wait for a random house call from CAS. Maybe I should invite them in for tea and cookies as they check out our digs.

All's I'm sayin's all.