04/23/2007

Somebody send me a dunce cap! Today I really did it! I was already feeling fairly frazzled after a supermarket trip with Nathan. ANY trip with Nathan takes at least twice as long as it should and is just harrying. We spent an hour at WalMart looking for three items. In order to have a moment of peace, I was required to purchase fries and a coke from the store's McDonald's. Nathan worked on those diligently for a while, but eventually lost interest and was ready to yell, wiggle, and run around again. I'm always happy to leave in tact and half expect a cheer to go up from the shopping public when I exit. It hasn't happened...yet.

Anyway, we got home and for whatever reason, Nathan was protesting against leaving his car seat. I decided I'd hold off on the battle for a few minutes and install his new sunshade. I put the sunshade up on the window, pulled it into place, and began playing peek-a-boo with Nathan around it. This, of course, required that I stand outside the car with the door at least partially closed. For reasons I may never fully understand, I shut the door and continued playing with him. Then all the sudden it hit me! I had just locked Nathan, my purse (containing the keys), and the purchases we had just made inside the car. I tried to pry the door open--because I have such incredible strength and thought that perhaps, if strength combined with willpower, I could open the locked door. To no avail. Panic set in. Nick was at work, half an hour away, with the only other set of keys. He, however, didn't have a car. I peeked in at Nathan and he smiled broadly. He was clueless. I ran inside our apartment (which, shame on me, I never lock) to call Nick. This is where the problem became additionally complex.

I confess to being delinquent when it comes to charging my cordless phones. They are never on the base, and thus, regularly run out of charge. Here I was, in a moment of crisis, and NEITHER of my phones had any charge on them. This meant than I was going to need to put my tail between my legs, ask for a phone and in all likelihood, explain that I had locked my 18-month-old into the car. I decided to go ask the Apartment Office for the use of their phone. As expected, I was asked, "What's up?" Goody. The woman seemed sympathetic but may have been questioning my competency. Poor Nick...always called to my rescue.

I explained to Nick what happened. He asked some clarifying questions which confirmed that I may not be perceived as very bright: "Where are the keys?" he said. "In my hand....oh! Why didn't I think of that...I could just unlock the door." They were in the car, duh! "Are the windows rolled down?" "Why, yes, I suppose I could just reach in and unlock the door." No, of course not! "And you say that Nathan is in his car seat?" I was really getting quite frustrated. If there was an obvious solution, I like to think I would have come up with it. I wanted to retort with something nasty like, "Actually, I'm calling from our house and Nathan's sitting on my lap. The keys are in my pocket and the car is parked safely in our carport. April Fool's!" But instead, realizing that this was completely my fault, I just said..."Yes." Nick said he would find a way to come home. I headed back out to the car to try and console the auto prisoner. I found him, but could not believe my eyes!

Nathan was sitting in the driver's seat pretending to steer the car. He was playing happily with the various buttons and levers. Apparently, he knows how to get out of his car seat. When I got closer, I could see that he had pressed the unlock button, and the car was totally open. A miracle! We ran back in to call Daddy and let him know that Houdini had figured out how to escape. Nathan was awarded two cookies and a clean diaper. I was glad the ordeal was finished. Do these kind of things happen to normal mothers, or am I special? Maybe I would prefer you not answer that.