Scariest Day Ever

I titled this post scariest and not worst day ever because it has a happy ending- but the moments before I knew it would were absolutely the scariest of my life.  And before I proceed I had previously also been scared (somewhat) in moments before in my life:
Like the time I had a baby at 29 weeks and I wasn't really sure what would happen.
Like the time I heard music blaring into my apartment and saw a silouette of a man in the doorway of my apartment (don't worry- it was my husband- trying- kind of- to be romantic)
Like the time I chased Andrew who was running into a parking lot and caught him about 4 feet before he was hit by a car.  When I reached him I realized I had kicked both my shoes off.  Scary.
Like the time I faced my fear of the ocean and flew to Italy.  I know (first world problem) but I HATE flying and flying over the water is not something I ever thought I would do.  I was scared....but all of those were NOTHING compared to last Thursday.

The weather was mushy all week.  Cold, damp, raining.  We HAD to get out.

We grabbed my friend Steph and her two youngest and we all headed out for some fun.  Here are a couple snapshots before I lived through the most terrifying moments of my life.






We were at the end of our trip to the museum and were in the train room.  I had given the kids their "gonna leave in a minute" warning. I had my head on a swivel since my three kids were in two spots in the museum.  A preschool class came in the room where we were.  Scott left me and walked over to Emma.  (About 15 feet away from me).  I looked away.  I looked back- he was walking across the room away from me.  I started to follow.  I saw him in the doorway.  I dodged a couple of kids.  I got to the doorway where I had JUST seen him-looked left and right- he wasn't there.

I walked back to where I was thinking somehow he got lost in the kids.  Nope. I walked back to where I had just seen him.  Not there.

I took a lap through the first floor SURE I would find him at any second.  Nope.

That's okay.  I wasn't worried.  I was still sure I would find him at any second.  I walked back to where I had left Steph to see if he had gone back to her.  He wasn't there.  Steph was puzzled because now it had been a couple of minutes.  I told the kids to stay there and took another lap through the first floor.  This time when I saw a museum worker I asked her if she had seen a blonde toddler walking through there.  She hadn't.  She asked me what he looked like.  I told her: very blonde hair, 1 year old, blue eyes.  She looked with me.  We went opposite ways.  At this point it's been about 5 minutes and I was really only a tiny bit worried.  A 2 on a scale of 1-10.  A museum worker brought me Andrew asking me if that was him.  I told her he was mine....but my 5 year old and my 1 year old was missing.  The kids were following me running around yelling for Scott.

Every museum worker was now looking for my baby.  I heard something about "Code Adam" on their walkie talkies.  All the doors were locked and no one could leave or enter the museum.

I decided to see if he'd made his way upstairs somehow.  I went up- looked.  He wasn't there.  I came back downstairs fully expecting to see him with Steph.   When I got to the bottom of the stairs and didn't see him with her my heart jumped.   It's been probably 8-10 minutes   Now I'm worried.  I ran back upstairs to a huge window over looking the street.  Standing. Looking.  My phone rang- it was Mike.  I told him I couldn't talk now and hung up (or something like that- truthfully I don't really remember what I said- but that's what he said I did).

I paused a moment and prayed- desperately- asking for God to tell me where to look.  I knew he could tell me.  I couldn't stop my heart or mind long enough to hear anything so I still looked- he was JUST here- I saw him.  I went back to where I had seen him many times.  It was like he had vanished into thin air.

Mike called again- now it's been about 15 minutes.  I was just about hysterical.  He couldn't understand a word I said but somehow it got through that I couldn't find Scott.  He was missing. I hadn't seen him for about 15 minutes.  Everyone was looking.  He happened to be on his way home- but he turned and was on his way to the museum.   I hung up.  Scott HAD to be here- he couldn't have vanished. I am literally running through the museum SCREAMING his name-I'm looking in every place I can look. I see the planetarium show being emptied by workers- bathroom doors are all opened.  People are waiting outside on the street to come in. They can't because the doors are locked.  Because I can't find my baby.  Every mother was watching me. I get it.  I heard multiple people calling his name.

It's been about 20 minutes when the original museum worker I asked for help came and put her arm around me- she said "let's go to the front- your other kids are up there- let's go sit with them."  Of course- she had felt- he wasn't here- there's no way we wouldn't have found him by now.  At that very moment- I felt I may be eaten up in a black hole if someone tried to make me leave there without my baby- I heard the voice "I've got him!"  I turned and a woman was carrying my mischievous boy to me.  HE HAD BEEN IN THE ELEVATOR!  The whole time I'm guessing.  He had gone through the doorway- turned the corner and gone into the elevator.  I'm guessing he had just been standing there whole time.  He wasn't sad or mad.  He seemed a little irritated- but he was FINE.  He asked for a snack while I hugged and kissed him and the kids laughed about how mischievous he was!

The girl who gave him to me said "I was walking past the elevator and I heard a voice tell me- go back and look in the elevator."  God HAD answered my prayer!  BUT he knew my heart was too frantic to hear him- so he told this sweet girl where to look.  In the background someone made a phone call and said "we found him."

It literally took my heart HOURS to stop pounding.  I cried for the rest of the day because I thought about how many Moms didn't have that moment of "I found him."  I was heartbroken for them.  I will forever be grateful my story is so short- and that it is not a sad story at all- but just a scary moment.

SO glad to have my monkey back!