I lost Abby tonight.
The plan was to head out with two other couples and their kids. We got started together, but the bigger kids were less than patient with Maya's slower pace and her nervousness about the actual act of trick or treating. After a couple of houses they raced on ahead while we lagged along behind allowing Maya to pick and choose the houses she felt comfortable going to. Grandma Linda and Maya carried on trick or treating while ML and I waited for the kids to trick or treat their way back to us on the other side of the street.
And we waited.
And we waited.
And we waited.
We headed back the way they had gone. They weren't there. We called their names. No answer. I texted Mike, she wasn't with him.
The panic was beginning to creep up.
We hopped in vehicles and went out looking for them. Three vehicles and friends out on foot. The panic was rising.
I've mentioned before that we live in a rural area. Street lights are not something we have a lot of out here.
In all Abby and her two friends were "missing" for 45 minutes. That's what Mike told me afterwards. I had no idea. You know how they say time stands still. It did. It could have been three hours, it could have been 5 minutes for all I could tell you. While we were all frantically looking for them, they were happily trick or treating. Oblivious to the fact that they were missing. Confident that we were still lagging along behind with Maya. Having a great time, taking care of each other, staying with their group.
We crossed paths with them countless times as we were driving around, we just kept missing them, see two paragraphs above.
In the end Papa and Grandma Linda found them. Another thing we have out here in the sticks is long driveways, so back in the beginning of the story while we were waiting for them, they were cutting across lawns rather than walking back up the driveways to us. ML and I were chatting and didn't notice them and they assumed we did.
I probably don't have to tell you there some
The rest of the night occurred without further incident, but not before it had shaved several years off my life.
7 comments:
Thank goodness for a happy ending to that scare!! Whew! I hate that feeling.
Way scarier than a zombie apocalypse, any day.
oh shan! how terrible! so glad it just ended in a couple of tears and i am sure some giant hugs. walkie-talkies next year maybe? ;)
Oh, Girl! I know just how scared you must have been. I once lost my oldest daughter at the zoo. I have 4 children and we were with two other families that had 4 children....so, it was pretty chaotic. We went into the reptile building and when we came out, she was gone. Fortunately, an older couple found her and took her to the front of the zoo to wait for us.....two hours of looking. I am so glad the kids were fine.
I am so glad it all turned out okay... =) HUGS Hope you get your years back soon. =)
TERRIBLE!!! I'll bet you don't sleep properly for awhile. yikes! We got separated from Emily Grace in a dense crowd when she was 5. Took all of 30 seconds from when I'd seen her, to when I realized she was gone, but took a good 15+ minutes to hunt her down and get her back. I have never been more afraid before or since. My thoughts wandered to every horrible possibility (had someone grabbed her and stuffed her in the trunk? Had she wandered to close to the bay and fallen in and was drowning? Had she tried to cross the street and gotten hit by a car?). As horrible as it all was for you guys, thankfully everyone was safe; thankfully she was still in a group; and now there's a nice "learning lesson" that comes from it all. OY My heart goes out to you, though. Not a fun moment to live through. And 45 minutes???? aughhh!! GIANT HUGS!
yikes, a parent's nightmare
Post a Comment