EMERGENCY!!

I've had to call 911 three times in my life for actual emergencies.

The first was when I was a 19, and about a year after the Oklahoma City Bombing and everyone in OK was still on edge over that and some moron called in a bomb threat to McDonalds (where, I worked at the time) so we evacuated all the customers and I ran next door to Pizza Hut and called 911. The bomb squad, fire department, police and the whole 9 yards came out and in the end, it was just some stupid kid (I assume) playing a prank. But it sure was scary for a minute.

The second was New Years Day, this year. Zack woke up in the night with a croupy cough, and we did all the normal at home treatment for that. Several times, I almost took him to the hospital, but in the end decided to wait until morning. Early that morning I was sitting on the couch with him, exhausted from the night, watching cartoons with the boys. He was in my arms and all of a sudden he got really quiet. I had been watching his breathing and it slowed down. Then his little eyes rolled back in his head and he stopped breathing. I ran and woke Kevin and told him I thought Zack wasn't breathing, and he gave him mouth to mouth. Meanwhile, I dialed 911. While on the phone with the operator, Zack woke up and started breathing. It was my most horrifying moment as a parent.

Then there was the day I lost the baby. Also known as yesterday. I was loading the dishwasher and everyone was in the kitchen with me, except Ben. I did a brief glance and couldn't see him anywhere. So I looked in his usual hiding spots; the bathroom, my room, upstairs. Didn't find him anywhere. My heart began beating a little faster and I called on the boys to help me find him. What scared me most is usually when I call his name, he'll giggle and start running toward my voice, but this time there was no cute baby voice answering me. I looked in the garage because sometimes he'll get out there if I forget to lock the door, but he wasn't out there. I checked the backyard and the frontyard. All of our safety mechanisms were in tact, but I couldn't think where else he could be. I called 911 because I could literally picture my little guy wandering in the road, and couldn't bear to think what might happen. I talked to the operator while I was still looking. She connected me to our Sherriff's Office just as I found Ben. In the playroom. Standing in the toybox. I was too relieved to be embarrassed right away. I hugged him, and kissed him and talked to the lady on the phone who told me that an officer would have to come by. Then I was embarrassed at the prospect of having to face someone at my door to potentially judge my motherhood. The officer was nice enough. Commented that I had my hands full when he saw all my boys. Told me "good luck," as he walked away with a grin on his face. I can't even imagine what he was thinking. But it's over, my baby is safe, and that's all that matters.