The Ferens Farm

This week I had a mommy “freak out” moment in the Safeway parking lot.  I had dropped the two older kids off at pre-school and was preparing to go grocery shopping.  Ally and I were hanging out in the parking lot while I nursed Austin.  She was “looking around” the car, talking to me and asking questions.  I told her, “Mommy is going to put Austin in the Ergo and then we will go in the store.”  She said, “okay” and moved into the passenger seat so I could come over and get her out of the car.  Holding Austin I got out of the car, closed the door and went to open the back drivers side door where the Ergo was.  Right when I closed the door Ally pushed the lock button and locked up the car, with my keys, purse and phone inside with her.  I had a momentary freak out and then proceeded around the car to ask her to push the button again to unlock the car.  I raised my voice (so she could hear me through the car window) and asked her to push the button again, which she did, but she would only push the lock side of the button.  I stood outside the car and continued to explain what I needed her to do.  After a few minutes the gravity of the situation started to set in…she was in complete control, something you don’t want a 2 year old to be in, and I had NO WAY to get into the car.  For several minutes I tried to get her to push the button but she did not understand what I was saying.  Then she tried to manually unlock the door which set the alarm off.  Now she started to get upset.  She was saying, “Mommy, Mommy” as the horn honked on and on…of course no one looked or came to see what was going on.  Finally the alarm stopped, thank goodness, that noise just intensified the situation.

So hear I am, at the mercy of a two year old, holding my baby, trying to rack my brain on what to do.  Ally finds the gum and starts eating her first piece…something she is not allowed to have, and she knows it.  As she begins to chew she has a large smile on her face  Now it has been about 10 minutes and we are no closer to getting the car unlocked.  I scan the parking lot for someone I know that can help me, I see no one. What are the chances that I recognize no one in the Safeway parking lot in Port Townsend? Slim…but alas there is no one.  Finally a slightly scetchy guy walks past my car and I decide to take my chances and explain my situation and ask him if he has a phone I can use, thankfully he does.  I call Brandon, very briefly explain my situation, and he says he is on his way.  This brings a bit of relief, but not too much because I know he doesn’t have a key to the car on him.  Our only spare key is at home, 20 minutes (one way) away.  I continue to try and explain to Ally what she needs to do.  I try and get her to find the keys in my purse and push the unlock button on the remote but because of the position of my purse she can’t find the pocket the keys are in.  Just as Brandon pulls into the parking lot I am blinking back tears and Ally is opening her second piece of gum, the first one has been swallowed already.

Once Brandon (and my dad) arrive I feel a sense of relief.  At least now there are other adults on the scene, I am not left to decide what to do about  this situation alone.  Ally is confused as she sees Daddy and Pappy , why aren’t they getting her out of the car? but she remains calm.  I talk with my dad about possibilities of what we can do and Brandon tries to explain to Ally how to unlock the car (for probably the 100th time sense this situation began.)  Finally, after over thirty minutes of trying, Brandon gets Ally to find the keys in my purse and once she does she knows just what button to push on the remote to unlock the car.  With one beep the doors are unlocked and Ally is in our arms again.  I was very shaken up by the situation.  We said thank you to Daddy and Pappy and proceeded into the store, but I could not focus on my shopping, I just kept replaying the situation.  Ally remained calm but kept bringing it up for the next couple of days.  Upon reflection I was so thankful for how the situation was, it could have been much worse.  It wasn’t cold or rainy, Austin was not locked in the car too, Ally remained calm and helpful, Ally didn’t have to go potty, Brandon was working in PT that day, Ally was old enough to understand and follow directions…the list could go on.  I just kept thanking God for how uneventful this situation was compared to how it could have been and I am already laughing about it…oh the ups and downs of motherhood!