Utter Panic!

Oren bought a new remote control car at a yard sale today, it only goes backwards in circles, but it's been the cool thing at our house today.

While on the phone with Stephanie, Oren took his new car out to the driveway, followed by Nathan and William. I instructed Oren to keep the car on the driveway, since William was outside with them to watch the car and he may wander off if they went somewhere else. Then I got some dinner stuff ready.

Nathan came back inside, but no William. When I poked my head out there was nobody on the driveway, Oren was down the street showing his car to a friend, and no William. No William at the little park, no William behind the house, no William playing behind the neighbor's bushes.

No William anywhere!

Total panic! I hung up with Steph, got Mark outside, and asked around at various neighbors who generously dropped what they were doing and went out looking with us. I'm no so fast these days. It's 5pm, hot, and he has no shoes on..... No real awareness that the road is dangerous and that he's so short people wouldn't be able to see him. And he's fast too, wicked fast.

He's still not anywhere and I'm about in tears worried about my baby, who I can't find. Mark headed back inside and called the base security forces (base cops) to report that he's missing, because it's so hot and he's barefoot and small and we don't want to waste time in case he got hurt. Just before we called, a couple 2 streets away called reporting a toddler they chased down and didn't know his name or anything. They matched us up together and I ran/waddled to the address. One of the neighbors got there just before we did, but I got the story from the people that found him.

He's so fast that 2 teenage girls on their bikes couldn't get him to stop. The lady that called chased him quite a ways before catching him and couldn't believe how fast he could run. We think he followed his brothers a couple doors down to a park behind the houses and ended up on the wrong street, got scared, and started running. Because I didn't have my eye away from him for more than a couple minutes, and look how far he got!

They gave me a ride back to the house, since I was hurting a little bit, and there were 3 cop cars pulled up in front, my neighbor holding William, and a nice flock of base police standing there. I have never been so relieved in my whole life! They took down all our information, I let them know what happened, that he's never been allowed to just hang out in the front yard before like that, and that I don't allow him to be in an open area unsupervised because of how quick he is. I'm not sure if Mark will be in trouble with his commander over this, hopefully not, but at least he's safe and sound - his feet aren't even burnt. He was thirsty though!

Needless to say, the other boys are grounded and lost the car for leaving the driveway against my express orders!