Have you ever lost your kid?

imagine waking up in the morning and the house is quite. You roll over, notice that your kid who normally joins you in the middle of the night is not there. You take a deep breath roll out of bed wondering what they have gotten into while your were sleeping. But they are not in their room. You call there name. No response. You walk down the hall, hoping they have not made a mess in the bathroom but they are not there. You call their name again. You go back in your room inspecting it for signs of your child. You wake your spouse. Questioning them about the child. But they are of little help because they were working all night and are comatose. You go back through the house faster as you throw on a sweater.

The house is way too quite. Sprint down to the basement; where you sometimes play. No sign. No response. You race back up stairs, You go out to the garage, calling, screaming your child's name. The other children wake up. Your spouse finally drifts out of sleep and into the realty of a missing child. They go through all of the things you have just done. while you are looking for a pair of shoes to go out side. Your child is two years old and capable of opening doors. You check the doors, try to remember if they were all locked before you just opened them. You run to the corner, looking both ways, you think about knocking on a few neighbors doors but it is a weekday and everyone is at work. You run back home in tears to call the police for help, your baby is missing! The operator on the phone wants you to answer so many questions but you are hysterical...What was he wearing, what does he look like, what is his name, when was the last time you saw him, what is your address?

I was at my brothers house for a few days this trying to escape my own reality. And I observed this happen with his roommates. They have a little boy. He is a bit of a handful. They work retail and late night shifts. To hear this young mother in tears on the phone hardly able to speak over her sobbing; and out side on the lawn crying over the loss of her baby was heart breaking. Within about 15 minutes a police car arrived, escorting a lady and the baby to the house. A lady on her way to work had noticed the two year old walking down the street by himself about an hr ago. Noticing no adults in site, she took him home and called the police. Whew! What is a person supposed to do? The kid is fearless, defiant and only two. This is a two parent family with one child. It is hard to believe it happened.

I am a single mom by choice. In other words I decided to have my daughter on my own, empowered with the knowledge that her father did not want to be in her life. I love her a great deal. I make daily decisions about her safety and step of to the plate to make up for the fact that I am a single parent with the same amount of responsibility as a two parent team. What became clear to me is that having two parents is not THE answer to my challenges.

I realize I have plenty to count my blessings for with my daughter. Her positive temperament, mannerisms, and level headedness are superior to many other young people her age. I just hope that when the day does come that she is not in her room, and has decided to walk out the door alone that she is prepared and equipped with the knowledge of how to handle the great big world we live in.