Trauma: life in this family!

Today was an extremely traumatic day. It started off fine, regular and then got great even. But then it happened.....a mother's worst nightmare! My oldest (Daniel age 11) had detention after school. 2 days this week, yesterday and today, at the end of school until 3:15, which then I would have to pick him up. Ok fine, he deserved it so fine. It was actually his first time getting detention and here we are 2 weeks from the end of the school year, I think he's done pretty well to this point. Yesterday went fine, he came right out at 3:15, apparently they had been counting down the last minute. Here's the routine, I pick up the younger 2 kids from the Elem. School at 2:20 so instead of going all the way home, we go to the library which literally is right next door to the schools. The schools (Daniel's Middle school and the Elementary), are together (they even share the cafeteria) at the end of a dead end road, and it loops around so you pass the library going to and from the schools. So I take the kids there for about 40 minutes, then load them up, pick up Daniel and then home we go. Not a bad situation, not what I would want for Daniel but still. So I go today to pick him up after being at the library. I park right in front of the school (on time), no Daniel. I wait about 5-7 minutes, no Daniel. I go into the school, after waiting a few minutes at the door trying to get someone's attention. I ask where the detention room is (it changes each day) they get a kid to take me there and he gets a little lost. I finally get to the room, the teacher's back is to me and he's talking with a kid, but no Daniel in the room and after a few minutes there, he turns and says that Daniel never made it to detention. Slight panic. So, I figured that buzzard took the bus home and now he's been home for over an hour with no supervision. He's in big trouble. I race home, it takes a few minutes. No Daniel. Real Panic. I have a kid go to the neighbor's, no one home. I call the church (cell phones do not work because we don't have money yet to pay the bill) Ramon is still there, YES! I tell him what happened, he races home. I notice there are calls on the phone, 2 from the school at 2:50 and 3:00. There is a message. While I am trying to get through the first one (haven't figured out how to skip and the person leaves a 3 minute message!!!) the phone beeps in and its my dad. "Did you lose a son?" he asks. YES! WHERE IS HE???? "He's here with me, a teacher dropped him off." WHAT????? "They couldn't get a hold of you so they brought him here." DID THEY TALK TO YOU??? "No, my cell phone was off because I'm at work." THEN HOW DID THEY KNOW THAT YOU WOULD BE THERE??? "I don't know."
This is when I lost it. Relief flooded over me, knowing that Daniel was safe and with my dad. And then total ANGER took over at the situation. Why did a teacher, whoever it was, take my child in their car? It was not his direct teacher, it was an auxillary teacher (who I will not name). Why did they take them in their car WITHOUT permission? Why didn't they keep calling or keep trying other emergency numbers? Why couldn't they leave him with another person at the school or stay a little longer? Why didn't the detention teacher call the office to report a missing student? Why didn't the office have a list of people in detention and so that he would be called to the curb? Why didn't the homeroom teacher make sure he got to detention? Why didn't Daniel just go to detention? All these things I am so upset about. Daniel was at total fault, totally his fault. He KNEW he had detention. But why are there not checks and balances in place to make sure an 11 year old child gets to where he needs to go? I'm going to be talking about all of this to the principal tomorrow morning. I will get answers or I will not leave.
I am thankful, of course, that Daniel is safe and home in is own bed. Whatever happened in that hour and a half will come to the light and hopefully some policy changes at the school. I am thankful for my husband for being so calm in the storm. He really did step up to the plate. I'm thankful for my church, who got on the prayer lines immediately, and rejoiced in the quick answer. I'm so thankful for my dad, who was there for Daniel. He sometimes works in a different town but he was there today and was willing to keep Daniel till Ramon picked him up without a second thought. I'm thankful that today was Wednesday and I was able to relax at church after everything settled down. I got some great parenting advice from my pastor as an extra added bonus. This could have been so much worse than it was. I'm really thankful for that. Pray that I talk to the school respectively that I would be able to bring things up that may be painful to hear in the right way. That change would be forthcoming because of this. That I would know who is really at fault (Daniel) and not to attack the school when it was not originally their fault. But that changes would be made so that something like this would never happen to another child. Especially not mine!