Thursday, September 06, 2007

Not Exactly A Calm Afternoon

The following facts will NOT be submitted in my application for Mother of the Year. Neither will the other 100 stupid things I've done recently.

I went to pick up Carter this afternoon at school, as Blake is out of town until Friday night. After 20 minutes on the playground with Jack and retrieving Carter from his teacher, we headed back to the car and across the large grass field. Because Jack never wants to leave the fun behind, he protested the direction I wanted him to walk in and so I had to wrangle him in my arms the entire way. Seeing an opportunity, I handed my keys to Carter and asked him to unlock the door. He did so, dropped the keys in the console and shut the front door. I secured Jack into his car seat and shut the back door. Went around to my door......panic ensues......the door is locked. They're all locked.

With Jack inside.

Somehow I reacted immediately, walked calmly to the car behind me and asked the sweet Mom inside if I could borrow her phone...my baby was locked in the car. Called 911....10 minutes later and in the midst of afternoon pick ups.....a roaring firetruck (sirens blaring), ambulance, and police car head into the parking lot. Brighton is a quickly growing but still small town, so we didn't have to wait very long for a response.

(I had to point out that I did, indeed, react immediately because it is so not in my nature to do so. In panic situations, I often do just that....PANIC and stand still waiting for Blake to react and be a responsible adult. I guess because Blake was not there, my instincts took over.)

The guys quickly get to work, but first tell me that it's 85 degrees outside, which is very hot, and if they can't get the door open, they're going to break the window. "No problem....just get Jack out....I don't care what you have to do." Tears are flowing at this point. I'm in no shape to handle the stress.

Now, there are 4 firemen working diligently on getting the door unlocked. Two paramedics are watching Jack to make sure his color is good, he's sweating, he's crying enough not to think something is wrong with him. "Crying is good" they tell me. No problem there!!!!

Meanwhile, Carter is directing foot traffic away from the Tahoe and he's telling people in his own take-charge manner, "Please keep your distance. My baby brother is in the car and the firemen are getting him out. Stay away from the car!"

Finally, after nearly 30 minutes and an almost made decision to break the window, the best sound I've heard in years happens and the door unlocks. I grab Jack, who is VERY UPSET.....doing his usual head banging and throwing himself around, etc. The paramedic asks me if this is normal.....yes....he's a performer like his older brother, so this is nothing we haven't seen before. They examine him and all is well.

Somehow, despite my hysteria, tears, near labor and virtual breakdown, we got out of there with only the spectacle we made of ourselves left behind. After recalling the events to Caroline (who is a teacher herself), she ensured me that we will be the talk of the lunch tables tomorrow. And, Carter will be that kid whose 9 month pregnant mother locked the baby in the car!!!!!

The guys took our information and let us go. Thank God for firefighters. They worked so quickly and with such ease and even offered Carter a tour of the truck to take his mind off of the drama. Needless to say, we will be at the station first thing in the morning with bagels, donuts, and a hugely sincere "thank you" for helping us today.

3 comments:

Shannon said...

omg, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I did it w/Payton but in the winter. She took the opportunity to eat day-old McDonald's fries that I had told her she couldn't have while we waited for the policemen (also via 911) to arrive. She was also about Jack's age. So scary, Casey, but you did the right thing and Jack will be fine.

Linda said...

See how popular you guys are already! With the high altitude, and lack of oxygen to the brain,(here in Colorado) no one will remember it next week:) It all sounds "normal" to me. (but then, I was born and raised here)
Seriously, I'm glad it all turned out fine. ONE MORE WEEK and your precious little girl will be here!

The Diaz Traveling Circus said...

Casey,

I'm sorry this happened to you guys...I don't know if I would have known what to do other than to start trying to break the glass.
My favorite part is the fact Carter was directing traffic.

Day and Michelle