Tonight I had to face a few of my fears to solve a problem that I knew I would encounter one day, but still not ready for as a parent.
I attend weekly support group meetings and am active in the support community. I’ve been involved in this since my kids were very young (he was 8, she was 4). As such they are very used to my schedule and know not to call or text during certain times unless its any emergency. They are even pretty good about remembering time zone differences, as they were born and raised in Winnipeg and my oldest is in University there. There were a lot of “your time” conversion conversations in their childhood.
So tonight when halfway through my support group a text came in from her (now a teenage girl living in rural Alberta) I knew it couldn’t be good. As it turns out she had gone to a bush party/bonfire with some friends, and thought she had a ride back. Turns out there wasn’t room for her and she was stranded 45 minutes away in the sandhills of Vega, Alberta.
And I panicked. I did’t have access to a car but knew I needed to get to her. So I dug deep and found the courage to ask someone for help. Which he willingly gave. And the rest of my night was a wild ride (literally and figuratively) that I documented via my Twitter account as a live stream.
In the end everyone was fine. I was grateful. I’m glad she knew enough to ask for help when she knew she was in over her head, and I was able to do the same. And she’s safe. Which is all that matters.
For those of you who remember my assignment “What Makes A Good Story?” – my ex-husband would have told that story as “she didn’t have a ride so we had to go and get her.”
Both true. Only one good story though. That’s why he’s in insurance.
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 