The Day I Lost Ethan

I thought I better document this story, so we can always remember it. It was by far the scariest moment of my life. During the summer when Ethan was home during the day, I would sometimes let him and Olivia watch TV and play downstairs during nap time. I would travel up and down the stairs to keep an eye on everyone during that time. Well, during one of my "checks" on Ethan and Olivia I noticed that Olivia had fallen asleep on the couch. I didn't see Ethan, but I noticed a lump on my bed and figured that he had decided to take a nap there. I smiled to myself and quietly headed upstairs to check on the daycare kids. While I was feeding a baby, Olivia came upstairs. I asked if Ethan was awake, and she said she didn't see him. I went to check on him only to realize that the lump I saw on my bed earlier was just a bunched up blanket. It wasn't Ethan. I checked all the rooms downstairs, but I couldn't find him. I thought maybe he had crept upstairs when I was busy with the baby, so I checked everywhere upstairs. I still couldn't find him. I started shouting his name as I checked every room and closet. He was nowhere to be found! I opened the front and back door, still shouting his name. Nothing! Now I was starting to panic. First I was sad and scared that my baby was missing. Then I started to realize how bad this really looked for me! How was I going to explain that I lost a 6-year-old in a basement? There is no way he could have left the house without me knowing. He just completely vanished! I'm sure the cops would understand that, right?! I called Josh in tears and told him that I lost Ethan. I explained the whole situation to him and he said he would head home immediately. I went downstairs again crying and shaking uncontrollably. I started screaming him name as I threw pillows off of the couch. Then as I lifted one pillow, a curled up little 6-year-old body plopped down onto the cushion. I ran up the stairs and called Josh to tell him that he didn't need to come home. I had found Ethan behind some pillows on the couch! Then it hit me. Why didn't he wake up when I was screaming? Oh my gosh, he's dead! While still on the phone with Josh, I ran downstairs and put my hand on Ethan's back. Movement. He's still alive! But I watched him for another minute just to be sure. He was still breathing, so I went upstairs to take care of the daycare kids, who probably thought their daycare provider had lost her marbles! It was still another hour before Ethan came upstairs. I asked him, "Do you know what happened today?"
He replied, "What? I didn't take a nap!"