Have you ever been in your yard, house or anywhere, for that matter, only to turn around and find the people you thought were with you are...gone? Simply nowhere to be found?
You search for them in obvious places, like the bathroom, or under a pile of blankets...you know, in case they are hiding in the pile, waiting to jump out and scare you. But they're not. Nor are they in the kitchen making you sandwich. They've just seemingly disappeared.
Fortunately, in most cases, the missing person isn't missing at all. They've usually just stepped out the back door for a sec, popped behind some shrubbery to relocate a sprinkler, stepped into the closet to get something buried deep within or ran down to the basement when your back was turned.
No matter where they've run off to, the person left behind (haha, no pun intended) suffers a few moments of sheer terror, thinking thoughts such as this:
"The rapture has happened and I didn't make it!! Ohhhh no!!"
But oh, what sweet relief washes over you as soon as you find the missing someone, right?
I have a very distinct memory of this happening to me as a child. Mom and I had been outside. She then told me she was going inside. I went in a few minutes later but could not find mother anywhere. Not even in the
basement!
...Panic. Stress. Fear. Sweaty armpits. What should I gather to keep safe, fed and warm? Where is the big box of matches? I should find them immediately and put them in a waterproof bag...
Oh. She was just STILL OUTSIDE. Behind some shrubbery, relocating a sprinkler. THE NERVE!
Something similar happens in my own home more frequently now that we live in a house with more than one level. Well, really, now that we live in a space where you can't see in every room by simply walking through the front door.
We've lived in some small spaces...including an RV. But I digress...
A few months ago, I went outside to put on our new license plates. I yelled my intention upstairs and then headed out. Ten or so minutes later I see Justin stick his head outside, then throw his hands up in relieved exasperation. "I thought for sure the rapture happened, I've been looking for you all over the house!"
Apparently he hadn't heard me declare my aforementioned intention.
Then there's last night. As I headed upstairs, I asked Justin to bring Rolin up in five minutes. Instead of getting ready to feed Rolin, I started looking for something in the back of our closet, so when Justin looked in our room he didn't see me. (This makes our closet sound big...it's not.) I wasn't in Rolin's room, the bathroom or the guest room. I'd seemingly disappeared!
...Panic. Stress. Fear. Sweaty armpits. What should I gather to keep safe, fed and warm? Where is the big box of matches? I should find them immediately and put them in a waterproof bag...
He checked all the rooms again and thankfully spotted me in our room just as he started to tell Rolin he thought the two of them had been left behind.
Sweet relief!
Is the rapture anyone else's first assumption? I think it's hysterical that it's the first conclusion Justin and I jump to when we can't find each other in our own home.
