The Disappearing Act

The house was so peaceful and still. Jessica was an infant, and I had just finished her 2AM feeding. She drifted gently back to sleep, as I tucked her back into her crib.

Since I was up, anyway, I instinctively checked my two other children. Four year old, Kevin, was snoring blissfully in his trundle bed. I looked into Jeannine’s room, and was startled to find she was not there!

I checked the bathroom, but she was not there, either. Thinking maybe she had crawled into bed with my husband, in my absence, I checked there next. Finding only my husband in our bed, I began to get a little panicky. I raced downstairs and searched the basement, the family room, the living room and every other nook and cranny I could imagine a six year old might snuggle into. The front door was still double bolted, so I was relieved to think she was not out wandering the neighborhood. I re-traced my steps, and yet, I still could not find her!

Reluctantly, but frantically, I awakened my husband. He couldn’t imagine where she might be, but he joined me in my search.

When Jeannine was two, she sometimes curled up in her closet to sleep. We checked every closet in the entire house, and still we did not fid her. Could she have gone into the baby’s room without my noticing? No, again. Where could she be?

We gently shook our son, Kevin. He’s nearly impossible to wake up. Bewildered by our concern for Jeannine’s whereabouts, he had no idea where she was, either.

Softly, I heard the sound of breathing. I looked under Kevin’s bed, but Jeannine was not there. My husband began to laugh. Wedged in between my son’s trundle beds slept Jeannine, oblivious to the commotion surrounding her disappearance. How or when or why she got there is a mystery, but my heart was pounding with relief, as we returned her to her own bed.

All was well. The house was peaceful again. I was WIDE-EYED! Where does it tell you in the parenting books that you will not have an uninterrupted night of sleep for 20 years?! How did Rip Van Winkle get so lucky?