This is my 100th post. Hmm.
First things first - I have to confess something I did today. I was a horrible mother. Actually, I thought I was doing a great thing and being a good mom until the incident....
I took my girls out to the park for a picnic at the park and feeding the ducks. It was a gorgeous day to be outside. We were having a super time and had a lot of fun with the ducks. We went back to the vehicle to head home for nap time. Long story short, I ended up locking Rachel in the van. I buckled Rachel in her car seat and went around to put Katie in and then realized that all the doors were locked!! I don't even remember hitting the lock button and can't for the life of me figure out why I would have done that. There was an elderly couple that was parked next to us about to enjoy a KFC picnic and they generously let me use their phone to call 911. It took about 15 minutes for someone to get there, during which time Rachel was being her independent, defiant self and decided not to answer my plea of pulling up on the button to unlock the door. A few minutes before the first cop showed up, Rachel started sweating and saying she wanted her drink. Can I just tell you that I felt like absolute slime right then! What is worse than your child asking you for something they NEED and you are helpless to do anything about it?! NOTHING! Nothing, I tell you. I was seconds away from finding a rock or something to bust out my window and get in there myself, and then one of the nicest cops ever showed up to help. Minutes later, my neighbor cop that trained my dog pulled up. That was a huge relief to see someone I knew and his reassurance was great - "We'll have Rachel out of there in just a second. Don't worry, Jill." Just the fact that he knew me and knew my daughter made me know he was going to try harder than the average stranger cop to free my kid from the clutches of heat stroke. Well, that's a little dramatic I guess, but still. After trying just about everything to get my apparent impossible lock open, they were able to figure a maneuver that worked and the doors were unlocked. At the point they finally unlocked the door, I had been staring at the pistol in my neighbor cop's holster and was toying with the thought, "I wonder what would happen if I ripped that thing from the holster and just shot my driver's side door open so I can get my kid out of there since you guys can't get my lock undone?! I won the award at camp for being the best BB Gun shooter of the whole camp. I can shoot a gun!" Then I heard the click of the door unlocking. Relief washed over me and I have never unbuckled my child faster in her life than I did today. I snatched her out of the car and of course cried the cry of complete relief. Nicest Cop Ever stayed for a second to make sure Rachel was ok and talked to her for a few minutes and then said, "I know" and walked to his car and came back with a stuffed Tigger and Eeyore for Rachel and Katie. How sweet was that? So, lesson learned today was I will figure out a way to have a spare key on the outside of my car lest this happen again. Second, there really are nice people in the world - 3 of which were ladies that came over while I was waiting on the cops with an outstretched hand holding a cell phone... again I say into cyberspace to those people THANK YOU!! And the cop going above and beyond with those stuffed animals.... that was really nice.
Some news I have is that of possible change. I haven't posted this in detail yet, but my husband is interviewing for a job in Kansas City. There is so much going on around this that it would take pages of posting to explain everything. Anyway, he's been looking for other employment opportunities inside and outside of his current company for quite a while now (months and months) and due to the fact that all his family is in KC and my step-daughter's mom's family is all there and they are thinking of moving back sometime soon, Mike thought it would be an option for us to look there as well. We've always talked about maybe moving there one of these days, but this sort of came up and one of those days became maybe sooner rather than later and I'm freaking out a little. He has had 2 phone interviews and is going up next week for a face to face interview. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it yet. I don't have a peace about this deal yet. We're praying for God to open doors or close doors according to what we should to. I'm being very specific in a dollar figure for his salary and feel like that will be a tangible way we can know if this is God's will for us. I've got to be open to the possibility, though, even though it's a nauseating idea to think about leaving the home we have here, leaving our church family, and leaving our best friends. I was actually reading in Paula Dean's magazine today about change and she put it well, so I will leave you now with this:
Sometimes changes in life can be scary, but fall is a great example of how change can be beautiful and life enhancing. If life seems tough and uncertain, take comfort in the changing leaves that tell us, it's just a season of life, just a passing phase.
5 comments:
Oh my goodness...I think all mommies must go thru these types of dramatic experiences. I can think of two other wonderful moms that had pretty scary events. I think you are a great mom. Thank goodness for nice people. And that you finally posted something on your blog. :)
Oh- what a terrible feeling when you let your kids down!
When Hatchling was quite young, I had just been to a Dr's appt where the Dr advised me to watch him close as he was at the prime age for climbing and falling. After the appt, we stopped by Hobby Lobby for ONE thing, and the strap on our cart was broken. I thought 'no big deal, I'll just be a second'. Uh huh, I turned my back and heard this scream like nothing I can describe. I turned around and stared stupidly at my cart, which was sans Hatchling. There he was on the floor, in a full rage. Imagine my chagrin as I called the nurse to ask if I should bring him back in...
Hopefully we make the worst mistakes before our kids can remember! Good luck on the move decision!
She's young enough that she'll never remember what happened. And really, you're not a bad Mom. I don't know how many times my siblings locked themselves in a vehicle. One of them even knocked Dad's truck into gear once (no keys in the ignition, mind you), and proceeded to drive into a pole at a gas station.
my-my remember those saying you heard-when you were growing up-someday you will understand-looks like you are starting to understand-that gut wrenching feelings parents get- all's well you're ok-she's ok-but someday it would'nt suprise me if you might over hear rachel tell a friend about the day i locked mommy out of the car and she called the police on me
No, moms who accidentaly lock their kids in the car are NOT the worst moms in the world -- moms who send their kids out with their red-neck boyfriends, who then lock the kids in the car in the summer heat for 8 hours while they go fishing are the worst moms, Jill.
You are a great mom -- you didn't say, "Well, that's one kid out of my way -- where can I stash the other one?" You did what a good mom does (panicked) and got help.
I am glad all is well -- don't beat yourself up over this -- it happens all the time.
Post a Comment