I Locked My Kid in My Car

Accidentally, of course.

This week I'll be making a special delivery to the local sheriff's department with fresh-baked bread, cookies and thank you notes for two local heroes.  I'm incredibly grateful to Deputies Coppage and Pennington for helping me, and Avery, out--literally.

Lately we've been dealing with a lot of Noah issues and I've been incredibly distracted by them.  The distraction nearly drove me to insanity last Thursday!  I'd made a trip through the Starbucks drive-thru for a sanity-saving chai (again...), and inhaled the blessed scent the entire way home, while Avery chattered non-stop about his morning at Kingdom's Kids while I'd been at "work."  I was grateful the rain had finally let up, so I just cruised home on auto-pilot.

I pulled the car in the garage,  turned it off and realized I hadn't rolled the windows down, as I've gotten in the habit of doing.  At that point I just wanted to sit on the couch for a few minutes and sip my chai relatively undisturbed, so I figured, "Oh the heck with it," tossed the keys on the passenger seat along with my cell phone, got out of the car, popped the unlock/lock button and slammed my door shut while reaching for Avery's door.  And it hit me....  I'd just locked my child, my keys and my cell phone (and my chai)--AND MY CHILD--in the car with the windows up.  In my distracted desperation for a few quiet moments, I'd locked the car rather than unlocked it.  Really?  

I found a pry bar and attempted to pry my driver's side door open (Avery's fine...  Are you laughing yet?).  I told Avery to try to unbuckle his car seat and reach the keys or the front door.  The one time his car seat works when I don't want it to...  And having him reach for his door to unlock it was pointless because we'd engaged the child safety lock after he'd opened his door while I was zipping down the highway at 65 mph.  After realizing there was no way I could pry the door open, and realizing Avery didn't have the strength to pop that final button on his car seat, I resorted to banging on the back window with a hammer, hoping to break it.  At this point, if any neighbors were watching, I'm sure they were backing away from the screaming, crying, banging crazy lady as quickly as possible.  I had Avery cover his head with his blankie, and hit that window as hard as I could, only to realize my rotten body was betraying me once again--I just didn't have the strength to make it happen.

After telling Avery I'd be right back--thank goodness he thought this was just a grand adventure--I tracked down a neighbor who was home, and we called the police, who dispatched someone to help me out.  My neighbor did what she could to calm me down--and God bless her, she prayed over the situation--and waited with me and Avery in our garage, singing songs and ABCs with Avery while I was wringing my hands.  After what seemed like forever, but I'm sure in reality really wasn't that long, two police cars pulled into our driveway--lights, sirens and all.  That's right, THIS IS MY BABY, PEOPLE!  About 30 seconds after pulling into our driveway, Avery was out of the car, happily sipping on a juice box, and refusing to share his Cheez Its with Deputy Coppage....  And I was in tears of relief.  I'm very grateful these men were gentlemen enough to hold their laughter in until after they'd returned to their cars!

Shawn, of course, has yet to let me live it down.  He said his first thought upon hearing Avery tell him--over the phone--"The fohweece hep me Daddy!" was "WHERE IS MY WIFE???  WHY IS MY SON CALLING ME AND TELLING ME THE POLICE HELPED HIM?"  He said it didn't even occur to him that the phone call had come from our home phone, or that it wouldn't be Avery calling if something had happened, it would either be social services or the police.  Even though Avery seemed to think it was a grand adventure while it was all happening, it apparently did traumatize him enough to cause him some panic when Shawn put him in his car seat to teach him how to unbuckle himself.  My BABY!

I am beyond relieved that Avery is okay and the day was not hotter or more humid than it was.  I am also extremely grateful for a praying neighbor who was home and available to help, and two deputies ready to answer my call for help.

Have I learned anything from this?  Yes:  We're stockpiling house keys, car keys and an extra cell phone in our garage from now on.  Oh, and we're never leaving the house again, either.  Ever.

Ah yes.  Another left field story for the books.