It was a typical weekday at home. We were all busy doing our thing, some doing school, others doing various things around the house. I try to know where Myles is at all times. Throughout the day I will stop and holler, "Myles!" or, "Does anyone know where Myles is?" No, it's not because I am a completely paranoid mom (even though I could be accused of that.) Myles has been known to wander off with our dog Buddy. He has never made it off our property, but has come pretty close! Enough to make me realize that we need to know where he is at ALL times!
This particular day I had just heard Malachi fussing at Myles. I went to see what the commotion was and saw Malachi with Myles cornered in my closet. I realized that Myles had a bag of chocolate and there were several wrappers littering the floor around him. I took the bag from him and quickly (you know, those times when you know you should take the time to discipline, but you don't because you are busy) reprimanded him and went back to what I was doing.
About five or ten minutes later I stopped what I was doing and hollered, "Does anyone know where Myles is?" McKenzie hollered back from upstairs and said, "He's not up here." I stuck my head out the door and asked Matthew where he was and he said he wasn't outside. I kind of huffed and called everyone and told them to find him. Everyone scattered (like we have many times before) and started looking in all of the regular spots. The playground area, well house, barn, behind the barn where the goats are etc. While they were doing that I went back upstairs and hollered for him again. I felt sure when I went back downstairs and stuck my head out the door again, they would say, "We found him." like they always do. They didn't.
This is when I felt sick to my stomach and really got worried. I told them to look in the vehicles and make sure he wasn't playing in there. I hollered throughout the house (and went to my closet to see if he was eating chocolate again) one more time and when he still didn't turn up...... I was about to panic.
I called 911 and said words that made me want to vomit as I was saying them, "My four year old little boy is missing." The operator was very sweet and calm and asked me if I was ok. I wanted to scream , "NO, I'm NOT ok!" I told her that I was very worried and could she please just send someone to help us look. She asked what seemed like a million questions. I finally told her I really needed to hang up and call my husband. She let me hang up and I called Marc at work. I frantically told him that Myles was missing and he needed to come home. He didn't say much but was on his way right then. I ran around in a daze trying to think straight. Matthew thought fast and ran through a horse pasture to check a neighbors in ground pool (that doesn't have a fence around it.) I started telling the kids to scatter and gave them all places to look. McKenzie jumped in a vehicle and took off down the streets around us. Macheus was awake but luckily we have a gated playroom that he was safely playing in.
Malachi climbed on top of our big van so that he could "see" better. He was starting to cry, and I was really starting to freak out. I ran back upstairs wondering if he had fallen asleep somewhere. He was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile the 911 operator called me back to ask a few more questions about Myle' appearance. By this time I am thinking that it was a good possibility that someone kidnapped him. I really felt like I was going to pass out. Marc called to ask if we had found him and all I could say was ,"No." I was in our kitchen and for some reason I decided to holler out, "Myles, please come out. Do you want some chocolate?" (I'm not sure why I thought to do that, because he has never hidden from us before.) Immediately, I heard little feet running across the hardwood floors, and I knew they were faster and heavier than Macheus' feet. When I saw that little blond headed boy with his red bandanna around his neck I grabbed him up and hugged him. I said, "Oh, thank you Lord, thank you LORD!" Then I looked at him and said, "You are in so much trouble. He looked out the kitchen window and saw three deputies back at our barn. One of them was driving a big SUV with the K-9 dog. I think he knew he had really messed up. :o)
I ran out in the back and started yelling to let them know that I found him. Myles was crying and McKenzie later told me that one of the deputies was laughing. When I got back there and he saw that I was not smiling he got pretty serious. I told him to please "make it count". He did a wonderful job putting some fear into Myles. Myles is a headstrong little fellow and I think it was good for him. He told him, "Do you know what would have happened to me when I was little if I had done this? I would have gotten my behind torn off of me." I told him that I thought that was a great idea! (I love the south!) :o) It wasn't long after his stern "talking to" that Marc got home. Myles had a "meeting of the minds" with his daddy that hopefully he will always remember. Marc didn't go back to work that day and Myles had a pretty rough rest of the day by his daddy's side.
Where was he hiding? Under my bed. I had gone in there several times calling for him. The little booger is a great hider. And, no, he wasn't even eating chocolate!
1 comment:
Praise God for a good end to that adventure!! Mercy, that child!!!~
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