Have you ever lost a child? Have you experienced that moment of panic and terror when you realize that you no longer know where your child is? Well, being the mother of eleven, one of the worst fears I’ve had has been losing one of my kids. Thankfully, I have done very well and never lost one of them in the store; I tend to lose them at home. This article is about the day that we lost Emma our baby girl.
Emma was not quite a year old when we moved into one of our older homes. It was in a rural area and for the most part we were alone and I had no worries. The backyard was fenced in and it was a safe neighborhood in which to live. She was just toddling around so she couldn’t go anywhere too quickly, but Emma turned out to be our little Houdini.
For some reason Emma has always had this need to hide. I don’t know why? But she loves to get in a closet, close the door and just sit there. One day when she was not quite two years old, I sent her out back to play with the other children, so I could finish rearranging the living room. I thought her to be safe out there at least for a little while. Little did I know that my worst fear would come true.
The children had only been outside for about half an hour when Mari-Elyzabeth came running into the house. She had a panicked look on her face as she ran to Emma’s bed room and then to bathroom and finally into the living room where I was standing. She said, “Mommy have you seen Emma?” to which I replied, “Well yes, she is in the backyard playing with the other children.” She ran to the backyard for a bit and returned with a very upset look on her face. She then informed me that no one could find Emma anywhere. She was not at the swing set, not in the clubhouse, nowhere, she had just disappeared!
Not being the kind of person to panic at the first moment, I very quickly walked to the backyard and called, “Emma, ready or not here I come,” I figured this was just a game of hide-n-seek gone very wrong. After searching the backyard, and the entire house, the front yard and the neighbors’ yards, I began to panic. By this time I was at the point of calling the police, when we heard that sweet little voice in the house, “Mama, I find the kitty! Count Mama! Count, and find me!”
“Emma come out Mommy needs to find you, I am missing you very badly please come out and give mama a kiss.” This usually works, but not this time, instead, I heard a very loud “No! I hiding, you find me!”
We began the search of every closet, and cabinet in the house. Only to discover that little Miss Emma had gotten the cat and climbed into one of the kitchen cabinets. Of course it was the very last cabinet we looked in. We found her curled up with one of the kitties held tightly in her fat little hands, just waiting to be found. When we opened the door, she yelled, “Boo! You finded me!” and I began to cry with relief that she was lost no more.
With eleven kids there is never a dull moment in our lives. And I thank God for every one of them. I guess this story shows how in an instant our lives can change, but over the years I continue to learn that no matter what may come our way, God is always there for us. And even for some reason we try to hide from Him, like Emma....He finded us! ~Smile~
God bless you all!
Rise'
Hope to see you at my regular slot. Tuesday, May 4th!
Saturday's Blog: Pat our lady of wisdom returns with Part IV of "Just Let It Go"
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