Kelly’s Korner- What’s Your Plan

Yesterday, I greeted my son as he came home from school.  I looked around, and noticed that his younger brother didn't follow him in the house. I asked him, "Where's your brother?"  and he said,  "I don't know. I didn't see him on the bus."

Now....on the inside....I was panicing a little.  We have a plan of action so we know where everyone is typically. This was odd.  He wasn't scheduled to stay after school. On the contrary, we discussed an event that he needed his saxaphone for later in the afternoon, and his horn was at home.  We also discussed his plans to ride the bus home from school before this event took place.

I immediately called his cell phone. There was no answer. I told Tanner to keep his cell phone on, and to call me if Mason came home before I got back. I drove up and down the streets to see if maybe he walked home from school, which would be highly unlikely, since he's never done that before. However, thinking that he might have missed the bus, I thought he may try it.

As I drove over to the middle school, I looked along the roads to see if I could find him. No luck. I visited the middle school,and had the office do a search with the last teacher for the day, and she said my son WAS there, and her classroom was checked before she left the building.

I thought maybe he fell asleep on the bus, and didn't wake up. The driver checked his bus...my son wasn't there. We called a transfer bus that we thought he might ride...he wasn't there.

At this point, I'm really starting to worry. I called my mom, my cousin, and then we went into search mode.  Maybe he rode to Grandma's with his cousin? That was the only other option I could think of.

As I was starting to tremble on my way home, finally my phone rang. My son was home. He didn't get the message that he was supposed to ride a different bus home, so...he was on a bus we didn't check. The bus driver was kind enough to bring him home after his route.

I stayed calm throughout this ordeal, but I was beginning to lose my cool. I gave my son a big hug. He made me feel much better when he said, "Mom...stop worrying about me...I can take care of myself. It would be pretty tough for someone to try to get ME in a car!" I forget that my son is 6 feet tall.

Either way...today, we made sure that phone was charged and ready to go. Everyone else did there part. Do you have a plan?

• Make sure brothers and sisters are watching out for eachother. Even if they don't like to acknowledge eachother, they can double check the bus to see if siblings are riding.  Also, to see if they have fallen asleep.
• Do your kids have an emergency phone?  It doesn't have to be an iphone. A simple emergency phone. Make sure it's fully charged everynight before sending it to school.
• If your child seems to be missing, contact school officials and other family members that can help you locate your child.
• Contact the bus service, and streets and with neighbors.

Everyone's life is different, but recheck with your loved ones today, and make sure that if anything happens to you, you have a happy ending.