Total Terror

I experienced total mommy terror today.

I let Deborah & Abigail go across the street to play with the new little girl in our neighborhood around 3:30. They were playing outside and came in to check with me a couple times. I looked outside and saw them, Jake looked outside and saw them, my mom looked outside and saw them.

At right about 5:20 I went across the street to call them for dinner. And they were gone.
They had been gone from her house since about 5.

I checked in our back-yard, and then rang the bell of our next-door neighbors on the right 'cuz they like her little dog. They had been there at about 5:05 and talked to her, but left.

Abigail & Deborah had been missing for about 15 minutes at that time...

I started panicking and was just yelling their names, in the backyard, down the street...

Jake came out and talked to the little girl's mom from across the street. Then he biked off to the little play area about half a block away (it used to be a nice play-ground back when these houses were built in the 70's, but is pretty derelict now). They weren't there.

Jake started biking down the street looking for them, and I went to the neighbor's house on the other side. We were both seconds away from calling the police....

When a friend of ours- Brian - who lives in our neighborhood drove back from his house. He said our girls were at his house. He had seen me freaked out when he drove past on the way home, and when he saw them at his house he put it all together.

Deborah & Abigail had walked something like 6 blocks- down two streets, over three streets, and down another block- for them to have gotten to his house.

And just to be clear here- we have never walked to their house. I have driven there one night to deliver a script or pick one up or something, but only Abigail was with me, and it was a while ago and it was in the dark of winter..

We asked them what they were doing, and Abigail told me they were looking for someone to play with 'cuz they were lonely!!! What on earth!?!

They are grounded for the next two weeks and will not be allowed to play outside by themselves or with the little girl across the street. I am grounding my 4 year old and my 7 year old! Doesn't that sound crazy?!

I have had some scary moments as a mom- immunizations, bad falls, hospital visits, etc.- but this one was by far the worst.
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Thank you, God for the angels you had watching my girls today! Thank you for Brian who recognized them and figured out what was going on. Thank you that I made dinner early tonight so we started looking for them almost immediately after they took off. Thank you that they didn't get taken, or hit by a car, or bitten by a dog, or go down to the river, or any of the myriad of things that could have happened. Thank you that they are both safe and asleep in their beds right now.