Lock the Doors

I exercise at the YMCA after work on Mondays, so that means I have four bags to haul with me in the morning (purse, lunch bag, diaper back, and gym bag). I always take them out to the car first, then go back in the house to get Brady. On this particular Monday morning, Brady was extra tired so we let him in his pajamas. I left Brady snoozing on the couch, went out the garage door, and placed the bags in the car. Upon hearing the door shut, Brady started to cry, so I went to the door to get him, turned the knob, and....nothing. After a half-second panic, I remembered my keys were in my purse in the car. So, I grabbed them, turned the key, and....nothing. NOTHING!

My mind raced as I thought SURELY there had to be a way in the house. Brady's screams got louder as he heard me outside the door. I quickly determined there was no way in the house, so I'd have to call my parents and hope we had given them a key to the house. I went back to my purse to grab....nothing. My cell phone was in the house (not that it works where we live, anyway!). No phone, no key, Joel was driving to Ames, and I had locked myself out of the house with a screaming toddler inside.

Normally, we dead-bolt our garage door, but don't turn the lock on the handle. For whatever reason the night before, I turned it. And Joel normally works from home. And normally, our garage door doesn't even shut behind you; you have to turn around and pull it shut. For whatever reason, all these "normallys" disappeared to create one big mess.

I called my parents from a neighbor's house; they didn't have a key. So, I called Joel to come home and unlock the door. In the meantime, my neighbor, my parents, and I all took turns trying my key in different doors, talking to Brady, and trying to coax him to open the garage door. I'm not sure why he thought he had to stay on the couch at first, but once he was up, he stopped crying as long as he could see someone through the front door window. While my dad knocked on the garage door, I peered through the front window trying to get Brady to open the door. He'd get about one foot away from the garage door, then he'd stop and just look at it. Little stinker! Finally, daddy showed up and saved the day, only to determine I didn't even HAVE a house key. I have no idea what key I was trying to use to get in the house...

Thankfully, it wasn't the worst possible way to discover I didn't have a house key! It was nice outside, it wasn't cold or rainy, Brady was safe inside, and being a 1/2 hour late to work wasn't a big deal. The ironic thing is all along I've been so cautious not to lock Brady in the car when I guess I should have been paying more attention to the house!