Monday, August 2, 2010

Firetruck



Today I'm going to make myself a badge that says, "Village Idiot". Then I'm going to make up lots of "Village Idiot" badges and take them over to the CityByTheBeach Fire Department, so they can hand out these badges to people like myself.
This morning, Zeke and I went to Albertsons to get some milk. I got out of the car, keys in hand, and opened up Zeke's door. He was crying - fake crying - and I said, "Where did Happy Zeke go? I thought I brought Happy Zeke to the store? I know, I'll shut the door and when I open it again, I'll find Happy Zeke!"
This little speech made him stop crying so I decided to keep playing the game. I set my purse on the floor behind his car seat, pressed the "lock" button my my keys, tossed them into my purse and shut the door.
As soon as I heard the door shut I realized what had just happened. I ran into Albertsons.
"Help! Help! I locked my baby in the car! Help!"
Thank goodness it was early and there were loads of Albertsons people hanging out at the front, avoiding re-shelving duties. Someone said, "Do you have triple -A?" (we don't) and someone else said, "Would you like to call the person who has the spare set of keys?"
I explained that the spare set of keys were in OtherBeachCity at work, and at least an hour away. The manager decided that he was going to call 911.
And that's how I became the Village Idiot, crying next to my car (and my baby) while the Fire Department jimmied open the front door.
Zeke was fine, and he cashed in on mommy's guilt and got a balloon and chocolate milk.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Balloons and chocolate milk fix everything.

Cristy said...

I've done the same thing! Sadly... more than once! First time was in a CostCo parking lot in Idaho. We had just bought our van, which automatically locks the doors when you drive over a certain speed. But in my mind the doors were all unlocked since I hadn't locked them. I carefully put my purse behind my seat so I could grab it when I pulled the girls out, then dutifully locked the front door as I got out. Then to my surprise the back doors wouldn't open! Amy was 2 1/2 and Sarah was a newborn. I calmly tried to teach Amy how to unbuckle her seatbelt (not really a skill I wanted her to have in general...just at that moment), but she couldn't do it. I then flagged down another lady getting into her car who offered to walk to a nearby gas station and call the dealership for me (which luckily was less than a mile away). It was November, so it wasn't too hot, but it probably took a half an hour for them to arrive and get the door open. Yikes! I also locked the girls in the van in my driveway when we first moved here, and had locked myself out of the house as well (where the spare key was). But I called my dad who happened to be home and he brought over their spare house key so I could get in and get the spare car key. That time it was hot outside, but I had left the van running with the AC on, so they were ok. So, welcome to the Village Idiot club. You are in good company! :)

Unknown said...

What an enterprising young man to be able to take advantage of Mother's guilt. I imagine him saying this, in a smooth British accent:

"Mother, I recognize that you believe this was a traumatic experience for me. I assure you that I am well, but my spirits would be greatly lifted with a balloon and a spot of chocolate milk."

Luke said...

How come when I get all whiney people just call me a wuss and tell me to get over it. No one ever looks for the Happy Luke. Maybe he stopped in at Carl's Jr. We should always start looking there for happy people.
I too have had one of these moment except no kid in the car, the car was on and the doors were locked though. Its a terrible feeling.

ol' Bob said...

Our van and I are not good for each other that way; I've locked keys in it several times. Mike saved the day once and got a side window open. A locksmith sent by AAA on another occasion took more than half an hour to get in. The van is pretty secure.

Unknown said...

I locked the keys in the car the first day driving to high school. I thought I was so cool, so I kept the engine running and the radio cranked in the little brown Sprint. Then I closed the doors. Then I was sad.

Barbara Jackson said...

Join AAA. Cheap. Peace of Mind.

Tami said...

Hey I think lots of us moms have done something like that! When we were in Yellowstone, we were getting back in our car from one of our excursions and Chad wasn't back yet. I buckled Maddie into her seat, gave her the keys that she was demanding to hold, and shut the door. Sure enough, Maddie hit the lock button immediately. Luckily Kailey was in the car too! You should have heard me banging on the car window telling Kailey to just unlock the car (she couldn't figure out our tricky locks). Finally I had her get the keys from Maddie and hit the unlock button, but I was getting worried! That's what the older sibling is for, right? So take note and don't ever actually hand the keys over to Zeke and shut the door either!