Black Friday '09

The day after Thanksgiving we had the brilliant idea of going to the Mall to check out the deals. This is a tradition in MY family and I have pretty fond memories of this tradition, which means that for me to have any memories of it I was probably a lot older than my kids are currently. Taking 7 kids under the age of 8yrs to the Mall on Black Friday is not a good idea. Fortunately there is a small play area in the Mall where we were able to corral them all and I think they were having a pretty good time. At least Coolidge looks like he was having fun.

Andersen and Will...not so much fun. Thanks Will for the courtesy smile.

After braving the crowds we finally made it to the church to play some volleyball with some of our friends who were still in town for Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, when we got there the main doors were locked and since we do not have keys to the church we decided to settle in and wait for someone with keys to show up. But our boys, being the patient little dears that they are, insisted on checking ALL the doors around the church even though we assured them that all would be locked. So, off went Porter with Campbell close behind and Mason in a definite 3rd position. As we waited with a parental "I told you so!" ready for their return we were much surprised to see them coming OUT of the church saying that the kitchen door on the other side had been unlocked.

Eating our words, we gathered up the rest of the kiddos and headed into the church to set up volleyball nets and literally get the balls rolling. Not wanting to keep Waverly from physical sustenance any longer I headed for one of the foyer chairs to feed her. After about 15min (well, 15min exactly because I always time each side when feeding her) I see a police car pull up in the parking lot and start wondering if we had set off an alarm in the church or something because we didn't have any keys and wondering how to explain ourselves to the officer now getting out of his car and heading for the doors. Quickly trying to pull myself together so I don't have anything unusual hanging out the police officer enters and, to my utter bewilderment, begins the following condensed conversation with me:

Officer-"Hello, Miss. We have a little boy by the name of Mason who was found wandering in the area and are just looking around to find someone who may know anything about this."

Me-"Mason?!? I have a son named Mason, but-"

Officer (with raised eyebrows)-"Do you know where your son is at?"

Me-"Well, I assumed he was in the gym with his brothers where he is SUPPOSED to be!" motioning toward the gym doors.

Officer-"Do you know who is supposed to be watching him?"

Me-"Well, me and my husband."

Officer-"And how many brothers does he have?"

Me (not quite sure why that is relevant)-"Three, and then the baby here."

Then the officer turned to talk into his radio saying, "I've found the parents of the little boy. They are here at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sir Barton Way. I figured they would be close by."

Officer (turning back to me)-"Do you have a car seat in your car so you can come and get him? He is at a store up the street."

Me-"Yes, of course. Let me just go and get my husband real quick."

Shaking, I enter the gym to retrieve Andersen and give him a short up-date on Mason's whereabouts. So, Andersen followed the officer to "My Favorite Things" to pick up our lost Mason while I sat back down to finish feeding Waverly. After what seemed like forever, Andersen finally shows back up with Mason carrying a huge bag of toys slung over his shoulder.

Andersen said that when he showed up at the shop, Mason was in the manager's office, eating a Subway sandwich, coloring in a coloring book with some one's coat wrapped around him, as happy as can be. The couple that had found Mason made sure to glare at Andersen until they left. Andersen informed me that the next time we loose someone (which I hope never happens again) that I get to go because he looked like a complete idiot when the officer started filling out his report and Andersen couldn't even tell him when all the kids' birthdays were. Then the officer told him that someone from child services MIGHT come out to our house to follow up on the report.

And guess who showed up today? That's right, a social worker from Child Services. Luckily I had listened to that "still small voice" this morning and cleaned up the house, including the very dirty and nasty basement. Both Mason and Waverly were asleep when she showed up asking if now was a good time? As if they are really concerned if it is a good time, the worse the better, right? Then she went into the 20 questions: names of children and birth dates, highest education received, disciplining techniques, have you ever lost a child before, do you take drugs, have any history of mental illness, etc... I think she was able to tell pretty quickly that our loosing Mason had been a legitimate mistake. Porter and Campbell came home from school while she was still there and amazingly started right into their homework. She even commented on how well behaved the kids were (if only she knew :0) ) until Coolidge decided to get a chair and climb up on the kitchen counter to get some pretzels out of the cupboard. Luckily this didn't seem to be a huge deal to her. And of course she commented on how lucky were were that good people had found Mason because she knew the guy as one of their emergency parents. Apparently he is one of the people they will place children with until a more permanent home can be found.

And although I am eternally grateful that good people did find Mason and took care of him for us, I am a little irritated that these people didn't try looking in the church for "the little boy's" parents. According to the police officer that was the first place he looked and of course that's where we were. And the people's story was that they had found Mason "wandering" on the sidewalk (in front of the church)! I can't help but feel that these people were trying to make an example of us by picking him up and taking him to a store a mile down the road and calling the police.

I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father who loves all his children and watches over us whether we realize we need his help or not. I am also grateful for all of the children He has entrusted me with. I have never and would never claim to be a perfect parent and this is fitting proof of that, but I am thankful that He knows the true intentions of our hearts and is there to help when I fall short.