I thought I would share one of my near and dearest stories of being a mom. NOT! I was Stake Primary President, the church Sunday School for the children aged 3 to 11.  I was holding a board meeting down the street at a friend’s house.

Busy church activities sometimes took over my life…sometimes.

I knew I would only be gone a little over an hour and my husband was on his way home from work. I called him and he assured me he would be home by 7:00.  So I left my 11 year old daughter Tiff in charge of 4 kids aged 4 to 11. But I  forgot, (excellent mom that I am) to give her the phone number. I left the kids playing with play dough and with plenty of snacks and took off.

Me on a much better day…

Little did I know how wrong I would be. About an hour later I got a call from a neighbor Terry, down the street. She said the words no mom wants to hear, “Pattie, I don’t want to alarm you, but you better get home right this minute!” and she didn’t tell me why. I jumped in the car and tore home (about 2 blocks). As I turned my corner my eyes  met with  police cars, lights flashing, paramedics, and the fire department all in my driveway. And no cars of ours there.

The hubs and I…he always made the hard things easier for me….he’s still.my best friend.

And just about every neighbor in my entire neighborhood standing out on their front lawn wondering where in the heck the parents were and what terrible disaster had struck inside the house while those no good parents were gone who knows where!

Yeah, it was a memory I will never forget….all those flashing lights on my front lawn…UGH!

When I got there I ran inside with my heart in my stomach, praying all was well. I met a fireman that goes to my church and asked him what had happened. It is comical now, but at the time, not so much.  My 6 year old had put some of the playdough in his ear and the kids tried getting it out. When they couldn’t they called 911 to ask how to get playdough out of somebody’s ears.

Yeah. A real emergency, playdough in the ears. I couldn’t even believe it.  I learned later that my 11 year old daughter had told the police, “My mom is at a church meeting.” So the officer had taken her in his squad car down to my church and paraded around asking where I was.  Yeah. I know.  Not just my neighborhood was I toast, but now also at church. Complete humiliation!  It was a really bad night for a mom, as you can just imagine.

The funny part comes later when all the hoopla had left my house. I had pulled all the curtains. The kids had gone to bed and I was sitting in the dark crying, my happy go lucky husband shows up. He’d forgotten HE ALSO had a church meeting. He was a high counselor in our church and also had a 7:00 pm meeting he’d forgotten AND neglected to tell me about. So he simply went straight to his meeting thinking the kids also would be OK for an hour. So we both blew it!

The next day was Halloween. Yeah. I remember trick or treating through my neighborhood THAT year.

At Halloween this year with my 3 granddaughters….MUCH more fun!

So I guess, time + crisis = humor, as they say. I can laugh about it now, but it was probably my worst experience as a mom. But as all moms know, there are a multitude of stories,  equally awful, that we could substitute, am I right? I can tell you with complete conviction, looking back, it is ALL WORTH IT.

Cuz look what I got!

My family is the best, most important thing in my life.  Enjoy them while they are little. It goes so quick. Happy Mother’s Day to all who mother, whether it is your own kids or others, we all honor you today. For all the highs and all the lows, for all the laundry, the meals, the parent-teacher conferences, the doctor visits, the Scouts, music lessons, laundry, PTA meetings, sports, taxiing, did I mention the laundry?… homework you helped with and Birthday parties you planned. It’s your day to shine!  Happy Mother’s Day!

The college grad playdough pusher…..yes I’ve gotten over it…it took a lot of therapy…….just kidding. Who could afford therapy?….I had good friends. And that’s the best a mom can ask for.