Tuesday, November 16, 2010

A not so brief swing by the grocery store

Yesterday I let James play with the keys as we grocery shopped.  I put him into the car and shut the door before getting into the front seat.... you can probably guess where this is going. In the seconds between putting him in the car and getting in myself, he figured out how to push the tiny lock button. Initially he sat there continuing to jiggle the keys as I pantomimed him pushing the button again and tried to will him into unlocking the car. No luck. Who do you call when something like this happens? It was snowy, but not freezing cold, was it an emergency?  Not that I could do much calling myself -my phone, wallet, and the spare keys were all sitting on James' lap. It seriously took me at least 5 minutes to grasp that I really had locked my child into the car. I ran into the store and the cashier, without missing a grocery swipe, used her free hand and calmly called 911 and gave them the address (this must not have been the first time this has happened.) As I stood in the snow trying not to ball as my baby wailed at me thru the window I felt like such a terrible mother. Well, the fire truck came and produced a coat hanger and 2 wood shims (that's all they can have these days since they damaged too many cars with the real equipment, but they still get the calls so...) After they took turns working at it for a while with no luck, just before breaking the window, someone produced the number for "Pop-a-lock." Turns out if you have a child or pet locked in your car they'll come pop the lock for free. A bit of information I, and the fire department, was glad to learn. While I'm sure James has already forgotten this incident, I'm pretty sure I'm scarred for life.  Randy suggested I recreate it so I could post a picture. I'd really rather not, if you don't mind.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Actually, I'm with Randy. I'd really like to see a photo.

Melanie said...

Ah! How stressful- I totally would have been crying too. It sounds like you survived though and it must not be too traumatic or you wouldn't be able to share. Clearly you are not the first and only person to have done this. I'm glad it all worked out (without having to break your car window!)

The Henderson Family said...

I remember this happening to someone at mom and dad's house before. It taught me that having a hide-a- key for just such emergencies is essential. You can buy magnets that you can stick under your car for just these kind of cases. It definitely gives me a peace of mind. I'm sorry you had to go through that. It is scary when something scary happens to your baby and there is not much you can do about it. It really makes you appreciate them more. :)

Jen said...

Locking your kid in the car is just a right of passage for motherhood! The good thing is that we are generally traumatized enought that we make sure it doesn't happen again. I still tease my mom about the time she carefully strapped me into my carseat, locked the door and then shut my fingers in it. She had to run around to the other side to unlock it and then run back to open it. I don't remember it, but she still feels bad about it :)

Debbie said...

You should post that pop a lock number!

Aly said...

Oh my gosh! I've been worried about this happening! That's so sad. It would be so scary to have to walk into the store and leave him there. I'm glad everything turned out ok. I wonder if pop a lock is in Utah?

Happy said...

So stressful! That happened to a friend of mine, but it was in FL, so the fire department could only allow the little girl to be in the car for a certain amount of time and then had to break the window. Right after they broke the window, Pop-a-Lock pulled up. Figures!

Devin and McKell Poulton said...

Ha:) no that's not funny. I bet it was awful. But good story. I'll remember to hang on to my keys from now on.

ps- we miss you guys!

Annie said...

Been there, done that :) yup, it's the worst feeling in the world. And I think it'll be one of the few experiences that I won't look back and laugh at!

rn mommy said...

i could only imagine....terrible. men can be zoo funny. re-create? something josh would say to do. happy holidays.