Missing Child

This afternoon, Madison went to play at the neighbors house (2 houses down) for awhile. I sent the mom a message after Madison had been there for awhile asking her to send Madison home. A couple of minutes later I saw my sweet girl heading home on the sidewalk. I watched her as she she pranced home. Just before she got to the driveway, I turned to check on her supper, I may have been away from the window for a total of about 20 seconds. I went back to the door, to open the door for her and I didn't see her on the driveway. I opened the door and did a quick scan of the side yard and the carport but she was not there. I grabbed Tucker and went outside to retrieve my child and give her a good spanking for not coming straight home. I figured she had gone around to the front to get the mail so I walked around the corner of the house, hollering her name. She wasn't there. I continued around the front of the house, hollering her name a bit louder - no answer. I went back inside the house and checked her room, closet, bathroom and every room in the house- by checking the house I mean that I was frantically screaming her name because there was no sign of her and she had just been on the driveway. I grabbed the phone and headed back outside, dialing my neighbors number and still screaming her name - I got the neighbors voicemail. I walked down the sidewalk and just as I was about to dial 911 I see our next door neighbor standing inside his door about to go in the backyard. Mind you, by this time I am frantic and Tucker is screaming because I have just lost it....screaming at the top of my lungs. I walk up to his house and just open the door without knocking or anything. He must have seen the look of INSANITY in my eyes - you know the look that only moms can get when they have got to that point at the end of their rope.....the neighbor did not say a word to me. I just grabbed Madison by the arm and drug her home, with Tucker still crying in my arms. I got in the house, closed the door, collapsed in the floor with both of my babies in my lap and I just cried. This was one of those moments in my life that I NEVER want to repeat. I can not imagine what I would have done had I lost my little girl. Now here is what bothers me about this whole experience - while I am running up and down the sidewalk with a screaming baby and screaming "MADISON!!!" at the top of my lungs - not a single person came out to see what was going on. This is my plea to you, if you hear a frantic mom screaming a child's name, stop what you are doing and help that mom. There is no worse feeling than those moments when you are imaging the worst - in my mind, Madison had been picked up by a crazy kidnapper that was going to do who knows what to her.

We continue with the rest of our evening and get ready for bed. As we put Madison to be we are reading her Bible stories and the first one we open to tonight is when Mary and Joseph loose Jesus as he is still in the Temple. They lost Him for 3 days?!?!?!? I can not imagine. I know I have read this story 1000 times in my life but today it gave me new understanding about what Mary and Joseph had to be feeling with their child missing for 3 days.

Tomorrow is another day.