At Least She Left a Note

Friday morning, Lindsey took me to work so she could take the car in for an oil change and run some errands. She had asked Sarah the night before to go with her, but Sarah told her to wake her up in the morning and ask her then. As we were getting ready to leave, I noticed that Sarah was up and out of bed, which was very unusual for that time of morning. She came in from the garage with her cell phone in hand, and I asked her why she was up so early. She told me her friend had called. It did seem odd, but I didn't think anything of it. Girls and their cell phones, you know.

So there I was at work without my car and cell phone because I had given it to Lindsey to use in case she needed to reach me. She called around 11 a.m. to tell me that Sarah was gone, and she read me the following note:

Lindsey,

Dad & Robin surprised me. . . they pulled in the driveway around 8:45. I went with them. Sorry it had to happen this way (says dad). I love ya'll and I will call ya'll later. again sorry.

Sarah

I haven't heard from her since. She isn't answering my calls, nor is her dad. Lindsey hasn't been able to reach them either.

I'm having a hard time putting a positive spin on this one. Anybody got any suggestions?

Gullible's Travels

If you've never spent countless hours in a car with 2 teenagers and a 7-yr-old, you don't know what you're missing. It's a lot like a regular road trip, but with triple the potty stops. And double the decibels. At least. Oh, and the bickering.

And oh, the blog fodder.

Like the time we saw a tractor trailer rig with the company logo on the side of the trailer. "Aunt Brenda, what does that say? I can't read Spanish." (It was cursive.)

Or, after several attempts to get Sarah's attention, when my niece said "Jesus told me he doesn't want you to ignore me."

Or last Saturday, on the way to meet my sister and her husband halfway to return the child to them, when she announced that she was starving. "Can we stop at McDonald's before we get there?" I reminded her that we had stopped for breakfast just a few hours earlier and that we were going to be meeting somewhere for lunch. "We're all going to eat together? Oh yaaay! Can I ride with you?"

I'll be back soon.

Love for Parker

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Thanks to Melanie. . .

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Have Handbasket, Will Travel

Thank you all for your prayers. Our Little Miss Handbasket has returned safely to her dad's, and he is now on his way with her to the bus station. She'll be arriving in my neck of the woods tomorrow evening.

I'm manning the battle stations and battening down the hatches. And praying. Lord, keep me from aborting my teenager.

I tracked her down last night and called the police station this morning to find out how to go about getting her home. I was told that her dad would have to come in to the station to file a runaway report to get the ball rolling.

When I called to relay that information to him, he was receptive and gave me his word that he would do as I asked. He spoke with the Chief of Police, who assured him that she would be picked up and returned within a few hours.

In the process, he also discovered that she had beaten him to the punch and filed a report on him last night. They had sent her home with the boyfriend and told her to stay there until she heard from her dad.

The poor man can't get a break. He's retired, and he should be enjoying this time in his life, he says. Pardon my insensitivity, but we're parents. We don't get to retire until our job is done.

I'm just thankful that this life isn't all there is.