I cried at work yesterday.
Anyone who has spent a large amount of time with me will know that I hate crying. I don't do it very often. It makes me feel yucky. Some people need to have "a good cry" to make themselves feel better, but I am definitely not one of them. Crying makes me feel worse, most of the time...
I was at the F.I.B. position (first impressions bear, basically you greet guests as they come in to the workshop and explain the bear making process) when a Disneyland Security Officer approached me. She informed me that a 16 year old girl named Morgan wearing a red polo and green pants was lost in Downtown Disney. Morgan has down syndrome and had been separated from her parents at Ride Makerz. Checking both floors and the restroom, Morgan was not found in our store, so I told the Security Officer I would keep an eye out for her. A little while later Morgan's mother approached me asking if I had seen her daughter and began sharing how helpless she felt just standing there. Security had asked her to stay put, in case Morgan came back to Ride Makerz and so Security could locate her. As I walked back and forth in front of the entrance, I couldn't help but feel a great swell of sadness for the entire situation. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your child and for her to have down syndrome would only made it that much more frightening. She could be anywhere, extremely scared and confused. Watching Morgan's mother pace around was incredibly depressing, but things only became worse when her husband came back empty handed from his search. They switched positions, and the mother tore off in the other direction, literally running.
One of my managers Suzy approached me and I filled her in on what was going on outside. I shared with her how my stomach was in knots, sick from the whole situation. As we watched Anaheim Police walk by our store, apparently called to aid in the search, Suzy pointed out in the crowd toward Tortilla Joe's. There in the shadows was a girl that matched Morgan's description perfectly. Suzy asked if I wanted to go get her and before she had finished her sentence I tore off in her direction, forgetting I still had one of our roller skating F.I.B. dogs attached to my arm. Leaving the dog behind, I walked briskly toward the girl, praying it was indeed Morgan. When I finally reached her, it was apparent she had down syndrome and I began asking her questions. I told her "Hi, my name is Sarah, what is your name?" She didn't really respond, only muttering about her mom and dad. We had found her.
Trying to build trust with me, I told her about myself and how her parents were looking for her. I don't think she believed me at first because she was insistent in staying put. I told her her dad was right next to the big Mickey Mouse and he was looking for her. [we have a large Mariners Mickey Mouse statue outside our store as part of the All Star Baseball Mickey Collection all over OC] She was hesitant, but began walking with me as I asked her what her parents' names were and told her they were over by Mickey Mouse waiting for her. Suzy saw us approaching and ran over to get her dad.
The only sufficient adjective to describe the reunion between father and daughter is: perfect. He immediately began crying and hugging her, kissing her on the forehead. He told me that it makes total sense that's where we found her. They had asked if she wanted to go to Tortilla Joe's later because they had chips there, and she loves chips. She was just waiting for them. The scene was too much for me and I had to retreat into the store, tears welling up in my eyes. It was silly to be crying about this, and my other co-workers looked at me like I was crazy. Only Suzy understood how I felt.
Later on my way to my car, I thanked God for being there throughout the search and for the blessing of letting me witness such love. So I guess you can say, sometimes crying is a good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment