Down a Life, or Three

Our Saturday was typical. My parents were in town to watch Kamden play soccer the night before and left just after lunch.

It was a beautiful day and Jack and Kamden had energy to burn so I told them to go outside and play. Lord knows we get a handful of winter days where it's not so cold you lose appendages in minutes. It's a simple situation of enjoying them when you can. And by you, I mean them. Not me. Double standard? Damn straight.

Kamden took the bait. Jack, well he takes after me. Nothing short of a threat to his life will make him venture out.

I asked Kamden if he would walk down to the end of the street to get the mail. He said he couldn't do it by himself.

No worries said Jay, he will go along with him.

Kamden is ready before Jay and heads outside.

This is not big deal. He is 6 and half years old. He knows the rules. He stays in the yard, off the street, yadda yadda.

Jay gets dressed and I hear him say he can't find the mail key. I yell that it likely fell somewhere - it is small and constantly getting lost. He takes my keys which have a second mail key.

A few minutes later, as I am dusting the living room (annual event! there were balloons and everything!) I see Jay standing on the sidewalk looking perplexed. He mouths he can't find Kamden.

I run to the front door (side actually if you want to be technical) and open it. He can't find him. I throw on my coat and a pair of shoes (boots, flip flops? who knows by this point?) and run out.

We. can't. find. him. anywhere.

He is not in the front yard. He is not in the back yard. There was fresh snow but I could not see foot prints.

It may have been 2 minutes. It felt like 20 hours.

We run into the house and yell. We yell outside.

He is no where.

I am using my I am freaking right the hell out here and can't stop panicking voice (you should hear it, it's nothing short of awesome).

I check everywhere I can think of. So does Jay.

Finally Jay runs down the street. There is Kamden at the damn mailbox. Which, for the record we cannot see from our house because the street curves. Apparently we also very swift that it took us that long to clue in to look there. In our defense, he usually means what he says. He said he wasn't going so I presumed he didn't.

I am down at least three lives. And also, we now know where the mail key was. Detectives, we are not.

I know the terror that parents feel when the possibility that one of their children is gone forever feels. It was literally 2 minutes and I kept thinking, here it is, the moment that will forever change my life. The moment in time that will split my life into two parts. Before and after.

Yet despite that, fully expecting him to pop up at any moment. I have the privilege of knowing the relief of finding him. So many parents never know that relief.

To say I am grateful is an understatement.

Mental note, just because he says he isn't going to do something, doesn't mean he won't.

After he was found, he and Jay build a snowman. It was so warm he decided he had to pose in his T-shirt. And I let him. Wonders never cease.

Also, notice the level of the snow compared to the car. We have had a LOT of snow here in Saskabush.

God I love this kid. Plain and simply, I cannot imagine life without him.

Completely unrelated! Practicing his speech. He, apparently, has a lisp. I, personally, think it is part of his charm.

Jack was doing some homework on the computer while all this was going down. He started running around the house yelling for Kamden too.

Then after he says, he wasn't worried at all. Uh huh, sure buddy, whatever you say.

To state the obvious, I gave Kamden a little further instruction on telling us if he is going somewhere before he leaves. Explaining that Mommy gets a tad bit worried when I don't know where he is.

Mommy can only handle one heart failure a year. Max.