and the parent of the year award goes to me.

the fault may not lie directly on me -or on anyone for that matter- but i am his mother after all.

yesterday was wonderful and awful.
the wonderful being an entire day with my husband.
his presence alone on sundays is refreshing, but also the added benefit of being able to say, "tell your dad" or "go ask daddy to help you" is a wonderful blessing. one never to be taken for granted again.

and then the awful...
some of my family were going to the lake for the day, but dave and i chose to stay home as we had invited some friends over for dinner.
when tyden found out about the lake plans he begged to go, and my dad said he would take him.
and that was that. we didn't linger over details, just made the transfer and went our separate ways.

we had a relaxing afternoon and once our friends came out we decided to walk over to the little farm that is just down the road from us- a quick walk across an apple orchard or out to the highway and down a bit.

it was a perfect evening and the girls were having a great time at the farm, so we hung around for quite awhile.
we had just made it back and were starting up the grill for dinner when a big black suv pulled up into the drive.
i stood on the front porch just waiting to see who it was or what they needed, when suddenly the back door opened up and tyden came flying out. he ran to me and flung his arms around me- he was shaking and crying.
i looked up at the suv and my mind was trying to grasp what was going on. i was wondering who in the world my dad had had bring tyden home.
then the lady behind the wheel gave me a glare and a quick wave and then left.

and then the story came out.
through his tears my son told me how grandpa had brought him home. he thought we were home because our cars were parked out front.
grandpa dropped him off and then left, and tyden went in. and looked and looked for us.
once he realized that we weren't there he started crying and walked to all 3 neighbor's houses only to find that none of them were home either.

feeling even more desperate, he decided to walk to the farm by himself to see if we were there or if someone there could help him.

and he took the highway.
i don't know what he was thinking.
of course a crying little boy on the side of the highway is bound to draw some attention.
he hadn't walked overly far when the ladies in the black suv pulled over to see what was going on.
and he told them he couldn't find his mom, that she wasn't at home and he didn't know what to do.
so they offered to help, and then he got into their car with them and they drove him back home.

to find dave and i standing on the front porch starting the grill.....

needless to say i layed awake for quite some time last night trying not to think about all the what ifs.....

and we've had some overdue discussions around here today......like the one about if you come home and no one's here, just STAY HOME. (watch a movie! have some ice cream! do whatever you want just stay away from knives and matches and stay home!)
someone will eventually come back.
and also the one about not getting into cars with STRANGERS. ever.

and i had to throw one more in there- if you find yourself wandering alone outside in search of your parents, please take some time to remember your shoes.
the gravel on the highway just ruins new white socks.

thank you, Jesus, for watching over him......