Running Away

On Sat. Cam came home from playing next door with a friend. He promptly told me that Addie had taken hand sanitizer and rubbed it into his hair and hit him. So, I told Cam to go and tell Addie she had to come home and would be getting a time out. Well, apparently Addie decided to run away instead of come home and face the music. Cam came running back inside and told me Addie was running away. I told him to go tell her to come in or she was in really big trouble. He came in and was all worried because Addie had just turned and ran down the street.

Chase took Cam outside and had him show him where Addie had run off to. Minutes went by and they came back with no Addie. So, I went to several neighbors' houses and asked around for Addie, no one had seen her. I searched the house top to bottom including the back yard and stairs to make sure she wasn't hiding anywhere. You should know that out of all my kids Addie is the most emotional and dramatic one of the bunch. When she was younger she would cry if she thought you were looking at her the wrong way. As a baby and a toddler she would cry when there was a slow song playing, even if it wasn't sad, she interpreted it to be and there would be no consoling her until the song was replaced by one with a more upbeat tempo.

So, it's fair to say that Addie has threatened us with running away before and actually has run away outside, but usually only goes down the sidewalk a little ways before someone tells her to come back. Once she hid around the side of the house. Well, after not finding her close by or hiding at a neighbor's house I began to worry and visions of some psychopath following Addie and taking her away filled my head.

Chase got in the van and drove around the neighborhood including our walking route and the local school playground, but found nothing. I again started to knock doors and make phone calls and wasn't able to find her. As I left one house and crossed the street to go inspect the church again (which is directly behind our house), I said a little prayer that we would find Addie safe and sound. I was becoming increasingly worried because I had seen Chase drive around the church and he didn't find her there either. I couldn't imagine anywhere else she would have gone and she was missing now for about an hour. I had little hope of finding her there. Not a minute after I concluded my prayer I looked up and saw Addie's tear streaked face poking around a brick wall next to the church, somehow Chase had missed her. I called her over and gave her a relieved hug. She realized how upset we were and was crying along with me. I called Chase and told him I'd found her and we headed home. Bailey told me later that she had said a prayer as well and as soon as she was done Chase had pulled into the driveway and Addie and I had come up the walk. She was so excited that her prayer was answered. I too am grateful that we have a Heavenly Father who know's us and is watching over us. Even though we were extremely grateful and relieved to have Addie back, she was indeed in big trouble. So, in hopes that Addie will think twice next time before she does such a scary thing again she will be grounded for a while. We love her and hope that she doesn't pull this kind of stunt again.