Excitement I could've done without

Today I was working in a first grade classroom.  An announcement came mid-afternoon that we all needed to check our emails because there were going to be some dismissal changes.  My kids happened to be in gym at the time, so I walked to the office since I don't have access to teacher emails.  They explained that there was a bomb threat at the high school and that school was on lock down.  The building was being searched with bomb-sniffing dogs, and classes were being dismissed one-at-a-time.  Because the buses were being delayed, it would cause a chain reaction to the elementary dismissal as well.  So not only were two of my immediate family members in a locked-down building with a bomb threat, I was facing an unplanned hour with first graders I didn't really know!  I immediately called Andrew because he doesn't have a class at the end of the day.  He was safe and felt confident it was a hoax, but we completely understood the choices and actions they were taking.  Andrew let me know about an hour later that he had been evacuated and was home.  We had no word on Catherine.  For the first time I wished I had allowed my kids to have cell phones at school.  Even though I was certain she was fine, I just hated the fact that we really didn't know what was going on.  She finally made it home over an hour later than normal.  In the meantime, so many kids at the elementary had parents come to pick them up that I was sent home, and I'm so very grateful for that.  I couldn't wait to hug my family when I got home.  I know that it absolutely could've been worse, but it was definitely excitement I would've been happy to avoid!