Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Today's trip to the library started out completely normal.  We walked in, returned our books, looked at the fishies, and went back to the children's section.  We played in the green screen room for awhile, played in the castle, then I set the kids in the playhouse area while I found some books to check out.

After about 5 minutes I see Max trying to make a run for it, so I go and grab him.  Just then a lady stops me and says, "Watch out for that guy.  He's a child molester."  I thank her and take Max back to the play area.  I immediately get a weird feeling, but not about the guy, about the lady talking to me.  I look back and she's following me. 

It's clear as soon as she starts talking to me that she's mentally unstable.  First she asks me if I would like to do pot with her.  I politely say no.  She says, "oh you don't do that stuff hu?"  I say, no I don't and try to get beside her to play with my children.  Then she starts really eyeing me and calls me Samantha.  I say, I'm sorry my name is Erin and I don't know Samantha.  I try to make a joke by saying that I guess I just have one of those faces.  She says, "Oh you want to play it that way hu?".  Now I'm starting to get a little freaked out because she won't stop giving me a death stare.  Just then a library worker comes by and I say, "I don't know this lady, can you get here out of here? And call the police?"  Because I can tell this lady wants to hurt me.  Badly. The library worker tries to escort her away and that's when she starts screaming at me.

"You f*&$%^ my husband! You f$&*@( my husband!" "She's my daughter and she f#$@*# my husband!"

Now she's drawing a crowd, thank goodness, and I say "I don't know you! I'm not Samantha! And can you please not use that language around my children?"

That's what she ran at me.  She came at me full force and pushed me into the playhouse.  I screamed.  The library personnel pull her away from me and she's still screaming obscenities at me, and the last thing she says to me is "If I ever see you again, I'll kill you!"

I think I screamed, "I don't know you!" one last time, as the people escorted her away from me.  I looked down at my kids, who yes, were right beside me when all this happened, and I've never seen Kate so scared.  A library lady asks me if I'm okay, and I say I'm a little shaken up but not hurt, and everyone leaves me and my children to deal with the situation.

We stay put for awhile, not knowing what to do.  When I finally start gathering our things to go, a library worker comes in and says that they've called the police, they have her in a police car and the policeman would like to talk to me.  Another library offers to play with my kids, and I wait to talk to the policeman. 

When he finally got there he told me that she's a seriously mentally ill woman, that she legitimately believes that I'm her daughter, and that he was actually looking for her because there had been another incident earlier at the mall. 

Now, if this lady had attacked anyone else, I'm sure that charges would have been filed.  But as someone who personally knows someone struggling with mental illness, all I can think about is how do I get this lady some help?  The police officer tells me he is taking her to a mental hospital now to get her evaluated.  He informs me that she does have a social worker, and medicine, but she had just admitted to not taking it for a few days.  He then asks me if I would like to press charges, I said I would if it would help her get the right help.  He says it actually wouldn't, all it would do is throw her in jail for a few days and that the courts don't appoint people to do mental checks anymore.  Then she would be released without any help at all.  So I tell him I won't do that, just please make sure that she gets the right help.  He assured me that she would, he checks my drivers license for extra verification that I'm not Samantha, and that was it.

So wrong place at the wrong time?  Or right place at the right time?  Sometimes things happen for a reason, and I hope I had a part in helping this lady.

As terrifying as this situation was, it could have been so much worse.  What if she had attacked my children?  What if she had had a weapon on her?  I'm so grateful that none of us were hurt and all she did was scare my children.

Counting my blessings today.

Holding my children tighter.

Not looking forward to returning my library books.