Lost Children

Yesterday morning, I nursed Miss Adele' and set her down in the living room to shower before starting my big day in the kitchen. When I came back out, she was gone.

I figured "Oh. Corynn must have taken her on a walk around the yard." so I headed straight to the kitchen to get some work done. Lots of beans to wash, snap, and cut for blanching which I dove right into. After half the bag was snapped, I realized I hadn't seen hide nor hair of my children ever since stepping out of the shower. An hour ago. Having the children consumed for an hour in a project is nothing new (ona good day!) but usually I do hear murmurings and so forth coming from the other room so I know they are ok.

I began to wipe my hands and get outside to track them down so I knew JUST what they were up to when Andrew came in. I asked him what they were all doing and he said "Oh-Wyn and Miss Adyay are pwaying in da caw".

Oh. Ok, cool. They are safe and well and if I interrupt their nice play~inevitably the magic spell is broken, so I resumed bean snappage.

Andrew went back outside.

I got back into my bean snapping and 45 minutes LATER, I still hadn't heard anything from the children (and Adele' never had even eaten her CEREAL!) so I thought "Wow. They are really having fun." Then all at once I realized it was like 80 degrees and while I HAVE told the children never to play in the car with the doors closed (and they have always done good about that) I realized I hadn't been actually OUT to check on them.

All at once every bad thing imaginable flashed through my brains about doors being locked and unable to get open. Passed out children. Children with heatstroke.

I raced outside and headed straight to the car and saw:

Three smiling, sweaty children who had made a car-home out of dress up clothes, pillows, an umbrella, books and musical instruments.

Corynn had dressed Adele up in a ballerina costume and baby was happily buckled into the big-kid seats, no worse for wear at missing cereal.

I left them with "bring the baby in when she gets fussy" and went back to the kitchen and worked in absolute quiet for another hour, until I called the children in for supper.

A brand-new, unexpected place to play= three happy children, a happy Mama, and three hours of uninterrupted kitchen work.

Sometimes I underestimate the power of play.