Last night, Josh and I almost did the unthinkable. We were busy trying to get all the kids and their respective stuff (still quite a bit, even at their ages) back into my truck after spending the afternoon at Grammy and Pappy's house to celebrate Pappy's birthday. Josh was busy strapping the kids in, and at one point had to stop because Connor had picked up the truck keys and had the alarm going off. Do you see where this is going?
All the boys are strapped into their seats, the last door is closed, and then the realization hits. The doors are locked, and the keys are sitting back on the console where Josh had left them (and where Connor had found and played with them). Nice. There's no hidden key on my truck. The other set of keys was about 25 miles away at our house, in my purse that I didn't bother to bring on this particular family outing.
Normally, when I'm out with the boys, I don't leave the keys anywhere but in my pocket (or tucked into the waistband of my shorts if I don't have a pocket). I have a slightly irrational fear that someone might try to hop in the truck and drive away with my boys (they'd bring them back shortly, I'm pretty sure, after Connor talked them to death and the little guys just screamed). Aside from Mommy's issues, I also know my boys much better. They're sneaky and pick up anything that's not nailed down (while I'm busy trying to strap them in one at a time). Josh, rarely, if ever, has the boys out by himself. And he didn't have any pockets, so he did what he usually does in his truck, just laid them down. And there they were, right where he left them. We could see them, we just couldn't get to them, and we hadn't thought to open one of our doors before we closed the boys in. So there we were, on the outside looking in.
There, of course, is a happy ending.
My oldest son, even when strapped in, has long loved to play with the "buttons" on his door. Ever since last year's long trip to Florida, we've had him in the front bucket seat and the little guys are in the back seats. Which was a really good thing, because the little guys might not have been as cooperative. Mommy walked around to Connor's side. "Can Connor please unlock the door?" I ask, much more calmly than I actually feel.
"Okay, Mommy. Connor unlock door," he says, and proceeds to do just that. "Great job, Connor!" he adds, always the first to congratulate himself and request praise from others.
"That's right, baby. Great job, Connor. Thank you," I say, relieved. Not that they were in any real danger, but still. It was not something you want to have happen, clearly.
"You welcome," my big boy says simply, smiling and proud to have been helpful. "You welcome, Mommy!"
Good times.
Possible lessons for Mommy and Daddy:
(1) Think about having a spare door key made and hidden on the exterior of the truck.
(2) Make sure you have the keys (especially after the alarm has already gone off or your children have had access) BEFORE you close the last door.
(3) Don't chastise your children too much for playing with the door locks, which I have surely done with said oldest son, because it might be useful for you at some point that your kids actually know how they work!
