Church Invitation, Pickup and Oh-oh
When I was about 6 years old, two of my younger brothers and I were invited to attend church with my friend (who happened to be in kindergarten with one of my younger brothers).
Our parents gave us permission (we did not have religion in our home).
Sunday came, we knew her dad drove a red vw van.
One pulled up out front. We ran and hopped into it, and off to church we went.
It did not dawn on us that we may be in the wrong vehicle.
Not even when the driver told my one brother, he would need to ask my friend's dad if she could come to his birthday party.
We thought he was teasing us.
The fact that none of us thought, "Where is our friend?", just thinking she was at church waiting for us, did not seem odd at the time.
My first thought on exiting the van at the church wasn't, "Where is Cynthia?". It was, "I bet I could climb that roof." (It came down to about 2 or 3 feet above the ground.)
We attended Sunday school without any sight of our friend.
Still childlike clueless, and thinking we were where we were to be.
The driver picked us up and drove us home, to pure chaos.
Return home from Sunday School, a pure chaotic welcome home.
Police, our parents, the neighbors across the street from us, some woman running towards the van waving her hands and yelling at the driver.
Sunday School had not prepared us for this return home. I wonder if we should have had the driver take us back to church, immediately, to learn what we missed in class.
The police came and took us out of the vehicle.
They asked us where we were.
When we said, "Church", nobody believed us at first.
That was until they heard what that lady was yelling at the driver.
She normally picked up the three boys from across the street and took them to church.
That Sunday, she did not go and asked him to pick up the three kids.
They would just run out and jump in the van.
She did not tell him it would be three boys, or he may have had a clue he had the wrong kids.
Grounded: We were grounded from attending church, again, until we were teenagers.
My friend could not understand when she asked us to come to church with her, and we said, "Sorry! We are grounded until we are teenagers."
"So, about Mommy's and Daddy's age, I guess."
Note:
I often imagine that gentleman, any time his wife asked him to "pick up so and so" declining with, "I think I shall pass on your generous offer, my dear!"
"Remember the time with the kids, police involvement."
"Me either, accidentally kidnapping the children, or them accidentally, hijacking me and my van. Best you do the pick ups from now on."