Where did she go?

The other night I woke up in the middle of the night. Since I have had kids that is not at all unusual. The slightest little noise or slightest movement of the bladder causes all rest and dreamy sleep to cease.

I tiptoed out of bed went to the restroom. I also decide, as I usually do, to peek in on my kiddos. I mean how can I resist to see their sweet, precious faces so peaceful and quiet? Did I mention QUIET?

First stop was Asher's bed. I pulled his Buzz Lightyear blanket over his little body and kissed him on the cheek. I quietly made my way to the girl's room and peeked in Rachel's bed first. She looked snug as a bug, so I continued the two foot journey over to Rosie's bed. Right away I noticed something was wrong. I got closer and realized her bed was empty. The blankets were all the way off and there was not even the slightest sign of her.

I dropped to my hands and knees and searched around on the floor in case she fell. Nothing. I reached under the bed in case she fell and rolled. Nothing. I was slightly freaking out at this point.

My next thought was that maybe she had gone to our room while I was in the bathroom. Maybe our paths had crossed in our middle-of-the-night excursions. I went to our room and found nothing but Mr."Three-kids-and-a-dog".

Now Rosie has never been the best sleeper. Maybe she was having a night of restless sleep and she had made her way to the couch. I have to admit that that thought was competing with some terrible story about a kidnapper in my foggy, sleep deprived brain. I went to the living room to find nothing but more emptiness. The couches were empty, the chair was empty and at this point even my heart had a sinking emptiness. Where was my little girl??

I needed to call in the reinforcements, so I went to my room and turned on every light imaginable to shut out the night. I then explained to my dear husband that our daughter was missing. As he rubbed his eyes and attempted to make his way out of bed I sped out of the room and back into the girl's room. Maybe I had left a stone unturned. And then I found her in the most unlikely of places- her sister's bed. The bug I thought was so snug was actually two bugs holding each other close. What could have possibly caused such sibling kindness? How did this happen?

I made my way back to my husband and told him I had found her. Within a few seconds he was happily dozing back off to sleep. I, on the other hand, lay awake for over an hour pondering the unexpected scene that had just played out.

The next morning I inquired of the girls the meaning of all that had happened. They had been talking and they fell asleep. That was all. Such a sweet moment had caused pure anxiety in this tired mommy. But no need to worry, within a few minutes all was back to normal. The girls were irritated with each other, and loud, and suddenly everything felt normal. As the chaos ensued around me I smiled and let out a deep sigh.