Today I Locked Stella In The Car

It was a bad day - and the title of this entry pretty much says it all.  Today I locked my seven month old daughter in the car.  First, let me share that Stella is 100% fine and didn't even cry (unlike her mother); in fact, through the entire episode that lasted of all of ten minutes she was smiling at me through the car window.  

I headed out to Target in the pouring rain to get a few things I needed before the weekend away.  When I arrived, I figured it would be easier to put Stella in the stroller so that she'd have some cover from the elements, but Stella had other plans and began to scream when I tried to buckle her in.  So, I placed her back in her carseat, with my keys on her lap, for what I thought would be a 30 second pause while I put the stroller back in the trunk.  However, when I shut the car door so she wouldn't get rained on, I neglected to recall that I had already locked the car from the inside!  There was my baby, precociously playing with my keys, totally unaware of the TERROR I was experiencing - while I stood in the rain, two feet away from her but on the WRONG side of the car, and realized that my purse, my cell phone, and my car keys (in her little hands) were all locked inside.  I did the only thing I could think of to do - I bolted into the store and asked the customer service rep. to call security or the police, and then I bolted outside and grabbed the first person I saw to ask them if I could use their phone to call my husband.  Thankfully, the security personnel were totally helpful and caring (they even got me an umbrella because by this time I was getting really wet) and they promptly called the local police.  While we all waited, I talked to Stella through the window and stupidly tried to coach her into pressing the "unlock" button on my key chain; she happily sucked on everything on my key ring (gross) and thankfully did not poke out her eyes or fall out of her carseat.  She was totally happy playing with something I normally don't let her get her hands on.  The policeman, who was also very kind, arrived within five more minutes...complete with sirens and lights, of course...and got the door open on Try #1.    

After all was said and done, I had a good cry in the backseat of the car while Stella watched me in a state of confusion.  Then, I mustered up the courage to go into the store so I could say "thank you" to everyone who helped and didn't judge me.  And, wouldn't you know it, I didn't even get the things for which I ventured out to Target in the first place...

...THEN, we went home, got in our PJ's, and played on the floor.