Missing Children

We'd had a lovely evening, the girls were adorable and Steve and Joy had joined us for dinner. It was time to turn off all the lights and double check the locks on the door and, of course, check to be sure the children were breathing.

Jeremiah and I both headed upstairs. While he was drawn to the computer like a moth to the flame, I went straight to the girls' room to admire the angelic cuteness sleep affords them. Kate was snoring in her footy pajamas, hair all asunder on her pillow, very sweet. Sarah was...not there. That was unexpected. The room was dimly lit with nightlights, so I looked more closely on the floor, where she likes to bed down on her lion rug. Not there. So I peeked on the glider but no joy. Next I checked to see if she'd gotten up and padded downstairs to the guest room. Then I checked our room. Then I started checking closets. Now Jeremiah had joined the search party.

At this point I'm sure you're thinking, just as we were, "oh no, space aliens". Just as I began to fret about anal probes (like I need a reason), I saw Jeremiah kneeling on the floor in the office, holding up the slip cover to the daybed. The daybed has a trundle under it but we recently got new beds for the girls and, for just a couple pay cycles, opted to use the mattresses off those beds on the kids' new ones, leaving a big space there. I joined Jeremiah on the floor. Sarah beamed out at me - "hi, mommy!". She was playing with a couple dolls and Kate's lip balm. Her entire mouth region was shiny. "What are you doing down there, Sarah?" Jeremiah asked her. "Well, " she said, as if it were obvious, "I'm playing with my dollies."

I pulled her out from her secret fort and took her back to her bed. "I made my bed, mommy!" she declared. She had. It looked very nice. I unmade her bed and tucked her in it for the second time that night. "Please go to sleep, Sarah" I said. "OK" she promised, but I could hear her softly singing to herself as I left her room. I was just glad she hadn't been abducted by aliens.