From Fun to Frantic

I woke up this morning making a mental list of all of the things I was going to do today. Go shopping, grab some lunch, play with Grace in the fountains at Tempe Marketplace, clean (not going to be as fun as the other things, but a necessity)... There was one thing, however, I had not planned on happening...

Grace and I were having a fun mommy/daughter day. (Although what day isn't a mommy/daughter day?) We had already hit a couple of stores and we were eating some yummy pizza by the fountain, Grace's anticipation growing with every bite. I chased her through the water and watched as she became successfully soaked. We were having a BLAST!





Back at the car, I was changing Grace's diaper and absentmindedly tossed the keys in the front seat. Grace hopped into her car seat as I folded up the stroller and stuck it into the car. I shut the door and in the time it took me to walk around the car... Grace jumped out of her seat, climbed into the driver's seat, grabbed my keys and hit the "lock" button. I was locked out, but most alarming, she was locked in!

At first she thought it was a funny game. She clicked on all of the lights, tried to put the key in the ignition, and honked the horn a ton. I just kept knocking on the window and asking her to open the door. I pointed to the handle, but she wouldn't open it. I tried telling her to get the keys and push the buttons in hopes she would unlock it as easily as she had locked it. It had been about 3 minutes into the situation and she was still enjoying herself.

A couple came by to try to help, but with strangers on the scene Grace started getting nervous. I continued to try EVERYTHING to get her to open the door. I told her that I needed her to be my helper, I kept pointing to the door handle, you name it, and finally the couple suggested I move out of her sight so she might try to open the door to find me. At the time it sounded like a good idea, I needed to try anything to get her out. Grace began to cry.

Now 5 minutes have gone by and it is a sunny Arizona day. I am sure that the car is hot and I am so thankful she is wearing wet clothes and staying cool. A new guy shows up, figures out what is going on, and asks if he can help by calling 911. He does and in the meantime I go to the back seat window so Grace will follow me out of the sun.

My poor baby is sobbing and I keep telling her it is okay, but my heart is breaking. The guy is being so nice and reassuring and then he asks if I am alright. I said, "I HAVE to be right now. She's upset and if I start crying it will only make her more upset.

I haven't lost hope that Grace can open the door so I am still asking for her help. The police arrive and I fill them in on everything as they try to open the door with a "slim jim." (not the jerky) Ten minutes have passed and the cop isn't having luck with the lock.

At about 12 minutes into the incident a huge fire truck shows up and they step in. They have a kit that opens the window enough to put in a curved piece of metal that can pull on latches and locks. In no time they open the door and I grabbed Grace and gave her the BIGGEST hug ever! She was fine, a little shaken up, but not crying anymore.

Don't asked how I had the presence of mind to ask for a picture with our heroes, but they were happy to pose. Grace cried harder in front of the fire truck than she did in the car!


It was a scary 15 minutes, but when all was said and done...