This entry was posted
on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 12:44 pm and is filed under Family, Kids, Parenting.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The snow moved in around noon. There wasn’t much accumulation. But it was cold, THAT was the problem. It made the roads slick. I watched people pushing cars in effort to get them out of the spinning wheel hell.
Crap, there is no way I’m going to make it home in time to get the kids off the bus. No problem, Alyssa has a key to the house for just such emergencies. She knows the rules, get in the house, lock the doors and call me.
I waited until five minutes after they should have been home then called. No answer. That’s OK. The weather is bad so maybe they are just a little later.
Actually, that’s the time they had already gotten in the house and Alyssa was on the phone with the alarm company. Tim’s been setting the alarm.
I was on the phone when they called me. While in voicemail, I also missed Alyssa’s call. I called her back and learned everyone was safe inside. She said the boys wanted to go outside. I knew that was coming. I told her to stay inside, have a snack and as long as everyone had their stuff picked up when I got home, they could go out.
A couple minutes later, my Mom calls. She’s on the list of people to call should our alarm goes off. I tell her that I need to call Tim and I’ll call her back.
Me: “You need to call Brinks and let them know everything is OK. The last thing we need is to have the police show up with our children home alone.”
Tim: “OK, what’s their number?”
Me: “I DON’T KNOW. If I had the number, I’d do it myself.”
I call Mom back to let her know what is going on. I reiterate about cops, kids, no parents.
Mom: “Well, kid, that lady said they had already contacted the police.”
Me: “I need to go and call my girl back to let her know the police might be coming.”
I call the house and Alyssa answers.
Alyssa: “Hi Mom.”
Me: “Hey, sweetie. Since it took you a little bit to get to the alarm, the alarm people called the police so they might be coming to the house.”
Alyssa: “Someone called here and I didn’t know who the heck it was. He kept asking me for a password and I didn’t know who it was.”
Me: “That was the alarm company sweetie.”
Alyssa: “There’s a police car now. Mom, I’ll just tell him that I was slipping and couldn’t get to the alarm.”
Me, as my heart sinks and I see myself making appearances in court trying to get my kids back from DFS: “Alyssa, it’s OK.”
Alyssa: “He’s turning on our street… he’s in our driveway… he’s getting out of the car.”
Me: “Alyssa, I’m going to stay on the phone with you. When he gets there, let me talk to him.”
Alyssa: “OK, Mom.”
I can hear the conversation:
Police Officer: “Hi, how old are you?”
Alyssa: “Eight.”
Police Officer: “And how old are you?”
Alyssa: “They are five. My Mom is stuck in traffic and I kept slipping and didn’t get to the alarm. I just kept slipping.”
Police Officer: “Do you watch your brothers a lot.”
Alyssa: “No, just when…”
At this point I am trying to yell into the phone to get Alyssa’s attention but no avail. During this time I get a voice mail from Tim: Hey, it’s just me, I got a hold of Brinks and they called off the police.
I hang up and call back.
Police Officer: “Officer (inaudible), Lee’s Summit Police Department.”
Me: “Umm, hi, this is Mom.”
Police Officer: “Are they left home a lot?”
Me: “NO! I’m stuck in traffic and she has a key just for emergencies.”
Police Officer: “Do you have an ETA?”
Me: “I just got off the highway at View High. I should be there soon.”
Police Officer: “OK, I’m going to give the phone to your daughter. I’m not worried about them. I think they are OK. Are you guys OK? Are you going to be alright until your Mom gets home?”
I could here mumbled voices: “Yeah.”
Alyssa: “Mom?”
Me: “Hi, sweetie. I’ll be home in about five minutes.”
I arrive and they greet me at the door. I’m bombarded with questions and comments: “Mom, why were you in traffic? Did you know the police were here? Why were you in traffic?”
I gathered my purse and computer. Once inside, they had already found their snow boots and were ready to go outside. The trauma from being left alone and the police had worn off. They were ready for snow!!!!
December 12th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
OMG! Wow.. talk about a crazy night. I am suprised that the officer did not stay to wait for you to get home, considering how close you were, prior to leaving.