On Tuesday I went to the Boys and Girls Club to pick up Joseph, Dalton, and Devin. When I got there, it seemed like mass chaos going on. The girl working the front desk kept paging for the kids into a walkie talkie instead of over the pa system. Lots of parents were coming in. They paged the 3 kids and I seen Dalton right away. Then shortly later, Joseph came. He said he thought Devin was still at the pool and would be coming on the second bus which was running late. All the buses are supposed to be back by 4:30 and it was nearing 5pm at that point. I asked the girl to page for Devin again. Still didn't find her.
Finally after waiting for 30 minutes, the second bus comes in. Now let me remind you, at this point we aren't sure if she's at the BGC or still at the pool, so they page for her one or two more times. As I watch the kids get off the bus, I keep an eye out for Devin. The last kids come in and I now realize Devin did not get off the bus, so she has to be at the BGC yet. I am extremely annoyed at this point because I have been waiting for them to find her so we can go. Jayden, Joseph and Dalton were in the car, which was also running. I walk back up to the desk and tell her that Devin did not get off the bus so she has to be there. She talks into the walkie talkie one more time saying, "Devin did not get off the bus, so HE has to be here.". I was furious! I belted out, "she is a girl, not a boy!!". She corrected herself into the walkie.
Again, I stand around and wait. There are probably 20 parents standing around waiting for their kids. Two different staff members came from the office area and apologized to everyone who was waiting. I managed to make eye contact with one of them, so she came over and asked who I was waiting for. I told her I was waiting for Devin. She said, "OK, come with me". I knew at that point it wasn't good.
We went through the doors and she started telling me that all the staff at the BGC were currently sweeping the entire facility looking for her, they were checking bathrooms and outside as well, and they have a staff member at the pool looking for her. I realized at this point, Devin was lost. I asked her if Devin was lost and she said no. So again, I said, "well do you know where she is, because if you don't know where she is, then she's lost". She explained that they knew she went to the pool, but that she didn't come back from the pool. The staff at the pool called and the bus was authorized to return back to the club. However they left one staff at the pool to look for Devin and the pool staff. She proceeded to ask me if I knew if there was anyone at the pool that she might have left with. Are you kidding me?! I mentioned maybe her biological mother if she was there, but she lives out of town, so I doubt that would happen, and plus, we have orders for them not to release her (or the other kids) to their mother. She was quiet.
I am now pissed. Real panic and worry haven't gotten the best of me, but was creeping in. I remember asking her if they lose kids often. I was unimpressed to say the least. As we were talking, after I had been there 40 minutes, another staff member came up on the phone and said they had found her that she was still at the pool and she was fine. A few apologies later, I said I needed to leave to go get her.
I got to the car and called Mike because I was livid. As I get to the pool, I see 2 BGC staff members sitting with her. I told Devin to get in the car while I talked to them. They said they found her swimming in the pool, so she wasn't scared and that she hadn't heard the pages that it was time to go. I asked them at what point did they know that Devin was the one missing. I was shocked at their reply. They said they knew she was the one who was missing about the time the first bus was leaving. Well, when I had gotten to the BGC, Joseph and Dalton were already there and the bus had left, so that meant they knew she was missing when I walked in the door. The staff at the pool said they received a call that I was at the BGC waiting, while they were at the pool looking for her. So imagine my dismay when I realized that the entire time I stood at the BGC, remember it was about 30 minutes, they knew she was missing and didn't tell me.
They knew she was the one missing. They knew I was there to pick her up. They knew I was her step-mother. And they never told me. Each time I asked for her, they never told me she was at the pool and lost. I was so angry.
We got home, we made a plan how things were going to work out for the pool the next day. We asked Devin to make sure she tries to listen for the pages and we asked Joseph and Dalton to look out for her as well when it was time to go.
Later that afternoon, I got a phone call from the BGC. Two people were on the line and they had it on speaker phone. They called to apologize and to ask me if I had any concerns. I told them how upset I was that I was standing there asking for Devin and the entire staff knew she was missing at that very moment. She said I had every right to be mad and that was a big mistake on their part. They had a meeting and talked about what happened and what they can do differently in the future if this should ever happen again. They thanked me for being open and so willing to talk about it.
I still cannot believe the whole situation happened. It was almost like they were going to try to cover up that they had lost her, but I came to pick her up before she was located. Who knows. I still get irritated when I think about it.
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