One week ago today, this happened.
After three harrowing days and even more torturous nights, a 3:00 am knock on the door from Officer Edwards of the Montgomery County Police Department opened the hatch to begin the escape from la la land. Tatum had showed up at a friend’s house, and we had the delicate task of going to pick her up without instigating another flight. In less than 24 hours after the subsequent hospital admission, she was on her way to a treatment program.
Solving the case involved full-family (including extended family) calm, tenacity, resourcefulness and sleuthing. Finn even joined me in searching a large park in DC to find her suitcase, which had been stashed in bushes. Kevin started calling me Detective Tomlinson because I was laser focused on pursuing every hint of a possibility of a clue. We found the suitcase. As Liz reminded me, “Tatum is beautiful and resourceful, but so are you.” Tatum underestimates my doggedness perhaps.
Finn and Clara were absolutely stalwart participants, helping where they could–including by asking my mom to come take care of me—ignoring where they could, looking under bushes, and keeping it real: “This is so embarrassing.” In a series of rapid-fire decision making, we sent them to California for a week to hang out with family and create some distance from the weirdness and worry.
Tatum is now safe and getting help. As for us, we are still standing. I feel like we have been inside a boxing ring whooshing around a washing machine that was flying through a tornado, but we landed standing. Nancy Drew always sported a touch of lipstick and brushed her hair. How’s my hair?
@theterrace 