A Little Scare

As a mom, there's not much scarier than the emotion that runs through you when you've lost one of your kids. I've had only a couple of those moments in my 11 years of motherhood, both of which have etched lasting scary memories in my brain and soul. Tonight, I almost had another one. Ryan was gone at scouts, and I was busy trying to catch up on a bunch of stuff around the house in preparation for being in Park City tomorrow. Getting costumes ready for Easton's preschool Halloween party tomorrow, rotating the laundry, washing the dishes, signing homework, tidying up, encouraging the peeps to get their teeth brushed and up to bed. You know the drill. Finally, I broke free of the routine and helped Easton with his pearly whites, knelt by his bed while he prayed, patted his back, and tucked him in for the night. Such a sweet boy. As I shut his door, I headed for round 2: the girls' room. Afty was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, but Rowan was nowhere in sight. No one knew where she was.

When was the last time I'd seen her???

It had to have been at least 15 or 20 minutes ago.

But I thought I saw her go into her room???

I searched all the rooms in the house, and still - no Rowan. I called her name, and soon all the kids joined the search. Just then, Ryan came home. He started looking in all the places I had just looked. Under the beds, in our closet, behind the couches, under the pool table - the usual hiding spots.

Still, no Rowan. I was starting to panic, but kept telling myself, "She has to be here somewhere. Where could she possibly be hiding?"

Then Afton, with her brilliant 8-year old mind, told us to find Rowan's box, and we'd probably find her. I ignored that suggestion because I had no idea what box she was talking about and was really starting to wonder where Rowan could be.

The house isn't that big.

All the doors are locked.

But Afton repeated her idea again 3 times, and finally, it clicked.

Ah yes. The box.

Today at Lily's house, Corinne carved windows and doors into appliance boxes for the girls, then let the girls color them. Rowan hadn't let it that Home Depot box out of her site all evening. Funny how a box can bring so much joy.

Yes, here it is. This is the one.

And lo and behold, when I opened the door to this most supreme fort of creative wonder, what did I find?

One Rowan Sue Brown.

Curled up in ball with her pillow and blanket. Completely asleep.

At first, I thought she might be goofing around and just hiding from us.

Nope. Totally zonked out. Snoring almost. Too funny. But such a relief to know that she was safe and sound in our house...I can hardly bear the thought of losing one of them. I'm pretty sure there could be nothing worse.

(P.S. Her older sisters wanted me to leave her there all night...I couldn't do it. She's now tucked safe and sound in her cozy bed.)