Another day in the life of Quince.

Adrenaline.  What is adrenaline?  Why does our body produce it during a very stressful situation?

I have heard of adrenaline junkies.  I am not one of them.

Quince gave me quite a scare today.

I rode my bike to the crosswalk to walk home with Quince, Jerrick, and Aspen.  We were talking and walking along when Quince decided he did not want to go the way we were headed.  He said the way he wanted to go was faster.  So I gave in and let him go his own way.  Aspen, Jerrick and I continued on our way.  Long story short when I got home Quince was nowhere to be found.  I retraced his shortcut path and did not find him.  I stopped at neighbors home and asked if they had seen Quince on their way home.  They hadn't.  I returned home thinking that he would also return.  He was not there.  At first I thought he was hiding out waiting to scare me when I walked into a room, but he was no where.  It was now 30 minutes since I had last saw Quince.  I called 911.  I can not adequately express the feeling of despair that a Mother feels at a time like this.  I felt so helpless.  

Calling 911 was a first for me.  I was surprised that I could remember exactly what he was wearing and what street I had last seen him on.  I had answered all the questions and they were dispatching the police to head my way and here comes Quince down the street with Jerrick and Aspen.  I was thrilled and furious.

Now this is where I probably was not the greatest Mom.  I thanked the 911 operator and hung up the phone.  Then I proceeded to chew Quince out.  I realize that I would have gotten a better response with a hug and a "glad you are okay."  I was so scared that I did not react correctly, I did apologize later.

I am very grateful that Quince is okay and we learned an important lesson today:  when you get home, "stay put" until Mom gets there.