Missing child!

Yesterday we had one of those moments when we were hit with a real sickening fear. We were just so grateful that the outcome was a good one!

Our grandson five year old Devin goes to a local country school about 3 minutes drive from our home. Mondays and Fridays I pick him up and bring him home. Tuesdays through to Thursdays he goes to after school care at the school in a classroom about 20 metres from his class.

3.50pm yesterday - my daughter phoned and asked if I had him, to start with I thought she was teasing me and then I realised she was crying and all she said was Devin has gone missing! After school care had just phoned her to she if she had picked him up!! They had looked around the school and couldn't find him anywhere. She said she had phoned her husband but he wasn't at his desk. I felt physically sick and said she should phone the police and that I would go down to the school. I quickly phoned MM as I took off in the car and he said he would head there too. I was thinking maybe Devin's dad could have picked him but knew that this was really unlikely. I raced into the after school care thinking that he may have magically turned up, that it was all a big mistake - but no Devin. They told me that sometimes his Nana has him and maybe he had gone there - I quickly told them no he hadn't as I was the nana! Meanwhile my daughter had got hold of her husband who had headed to the school as well.

The carer was explaining that they were looking, searching all the rooms etc. I was just about to start looking when the carer said that it looked like Devin heading into the school office with someone, I raced over and it was Devin with our son-in-law, who had just got to the playground when someone had spotted Devin sitting by the sand pit!! I had such a feeling of relief and just hugged him. Our son-in-law quickly phoned our daughter, I quickly phoned MM. Devin looked a little worried, he knew we were worried, but I seriously don't think he thought of the panic and fears we all had. He had decided he didn't want to go to after school care and thought he would just stay in the play ground. Little monkey!! He said to his dad he wanted to come to our place everyday. (Just not a possibility though.) He was shocked when I told him the police had been phoned. This was around 4.00pm and he had been missing for about an hour, he's always quite clear where he is meant to be on what days, so all of us were thinking along the same lines - that someone had just come and drove off with him!!!

I can't understand why it took so long for the school care to raise the alarm.

I can't understand why Devin didn't think we would be worried!! Kid logic though maybe - he knew where he was.

The school care phoned my daughter later on and apologised and did explain that they had noticed his absence by about 3.10pm and said quite often over all their centres they can have about 15 kids not show up and it is always the case the parent has picked them up, or they hadn't been at school. This was the first official 'missing' child. My daughter explained that she always phoned if he would not be attending.

I went back to our daughter's house and we sat there, two very frassled parents, one churned up nana and Devin being very quiet and concerned looking. He asked his mum why she was worried? In part of the conversation she explained that after school care was a safe place and if Devin wasn't there we would all think he may not be safe. He was also told about all the people who were worried about him and that his grand dad was phoned and going to help look for him. Today the school care people are going to collect him!! I think that should happen anyway. The dreadful thoughts of how far away a child could be in just under an hour just sickened us all.

Did I say a couple of days ago our life was settling down.... Yea right Anne - take this!

We had a tenant move out of our rental property, I haven't said anything on here about the problem but there is a repair job to be done. It's a long story so I won't go on, but basically repairs to the property are going to be more than double the bond. We were obtaining quotes for the repairs and when we realised the extent of the damage and knew we would have to go to mediation to sort, so we informed her of that. Meanwhile I got back to our house last night and found that instead she is proceeding with mediation with us? So next week off we go and I'm not looking forward to it. After the more than nerve racking couple of hours we had - I didn't need to come home to this, I was fuming.

And when I got that phone call from our daughter, I just had all my books out to finally start some study for the diploma paper I'm doing, I came back over to the office last night and there they still were sitting. I went back to the house and poured a glass of wine.....