you almost lost me today
due to heart failure.i boogied out onto the front porch to put a few items in the recycling bin. while i was breaking boxes down, bebe apparently busted down the babygate and bum-rushed to the front door. i turned around when i heard the screen door LOCK! yup. me outside, bebe inside. LOCKED inside. the first floor of our house is pretty much baby-proofed - the two rooms that are babygated contain no dangers. beyond the babygates, however... suffice it to say he's never in those areas alone.
i tell bebe, through the screen+glass door, to turn the lock. he does so, i try the door. no dice. i tell him to try again, while attempting to remain calm. he's locked inside with the dogs. and the stairs. and the very dangerous stairs to the third floor that has no railing. i think about how i'm going to get in. he knows how to open the windows in the living room, and perhaps i can convince him to crawl back under the baby gate and unlock one. he turns the lock again. i try the door. still locked. i feel myself starting to panic. i start thinking about things i can use to break windows, doing a mental scan of everything around the outside of the house.
"i need help, mommy," he says as he moves away from the door.
"mommy is out here and you are in there, i need you to help me unlock the door. try turning the lock again, please." my heart is pounding, i'm shaking, but somehow i sound calm.
he turns the door handle. i tell him again to try the little lock beneath.
i see a terminex van and turn to flag it down, in hopes that they have a phone. they look at me hollering at them and waving my arms about... then, you guessed it, they keep driving. mental note: NEVER call terminex for my termite needs.
bebe moves the lock again and i try the door. nada.
"mommy. HELP me." he's laughing. he tries it again. still locked. i tell him to turn it the other way.
in fine toddler two year old fashion, "NOOOOOOOOO!"
"bebe, please show mommy how well you turn the lock the other way now. it's different than the other times you've turned it."
he does. DOOR OPENS! i shriek with sheer glee and we do a little dance. then we talked about how we shouldn't lock the door when mommy is outside.
i swear, it took me 30 minutes to stop shaking once i got back inside. time stood still. what happened over the course of a few minutes felt. like. an. eternity.
NEVER did that scenario cross my mind!
time to bebe-proof the rest of the house.
we leave for the cottage tomorrow after i get out of class! oh, how we need a rest, though i'll have lots of book learnin' to do! 10 glorious days of reprieve, here we come!!!!
posted by supergirlest @ Wednesday, September 05, 2007
