Yesterday's excitement

The laundry room here is in the next building over from us. There is a little sidewalk that goes in between the 2 buildings and our apt. is really close. So yesterday I am doing laundry and Emma and Sara decide that instead of staying inside and watching tv they are going to come find me. They knew where I was, they've done this a million times before...everytime I tell them that if they want to come with me, then come with me, don't come find me!

Anyways, they are standing by the laundry room door and I have my back to them folding sheets. Emma says "I'm going home" I said OK and finidhed folding 1 sheet and 1 sdleeping bag..that quick! So I am walking home and Emma comes back to me and asked where Sara is. I said, didn't she go home with you? And Emma said No. So I go in the house and call for her, look around for her, nothing. our place is tiny, not a lot of places to look.

Now I knew right when Emma had said that to me it was serious because the girls are ALWAYS together. They never go anywhere or do anything without each other. So I walk back to the laundry room and ask the people there if she is in there...no. So I start walking back to my apt. and a lady walking asked me what was wrong and I told her I couldn't find my daughter. She had seen Sara when the girls had first come to the laundry room.

So she starts looking and I go back home, check again, call my friend Ashley who lives here and asked her to help me look, then called 911. I told Anthony to go to all of their friends and look for her. And Emma was with the lady who had asked me what was wrong.

So the 911 operator picks up and asks what my emergency was and I said "I can't find my daughter", she asked where I lived and I told her. I think she could hear it in my voice that i was about to loose it and she asked me to calm down. Then she asked me to describe Sara. My response? She's little, she's only 4. So descriptive right? She thought it would be best to ask me questions and have me answer them. So I answered her questions and was like, ok I have to go outside and look for her. But she wouldn't let me get off of the phone!! She said that she needed me to stay on until the police got there.

So in the meantime, the lady our looking for Sara came back once and said that they couldn't find her, call 911...I told her I was on the phone with them. Then she came back again and said that someone had seen her at the pool area so people were checking there. I told the operator that to get to the pool you have to cross the parking lot and there was no way she would have done that. No way. So I pretty much sat on the phone in silence. Everytime I tried to talk I would start crying again.

My front blinds were cracked just a little and I saw a little head run by. Now right outside our door are the stairs...then I saw her little teal shorts go running up there. I threw down the phone and ran outside and called her name and there she was! I yelled that I found her (apparently nobody heard me). So I took her inside and told the operator. She said to stay there because the police will want to talk to me.

So I step outside just as everyone came up and said they couldn't find her and I told them that I had her. That lady who helped me just started crying. Since I was inside I didn't know that 1/2 of this place were looking for her!! Our apt. faces another building and apparently the parking lot was full of people. The police told me that there were people everywhere. How cool is that? People here really are awesome and there are so many kids, everybody cares.

So I asked Sara where she had been and she said that she had been upstairs at her friends house. What?! I asked her if she heard people calling her name and she said yes. Well...why didn't you answer? I don't know, sorry. That was the response I got from her. Ring her neck that child! I talked with her about it last night and she promised that she would never do that again. What surprises me is that she did it in the first place. She never leaves Emma's side....just goes to show that even when you think you know your child, maybe not as much as you think...if that makes sense!