Locked Out

Have you ever stumbled into a situation so comical that you find yourself looking around for the cameras, wondering if you are the target of an elaborate practical joke? It happens to me quite often lately but recently a couple of my children had a funny experience I wish I had on film.

San Francisco trip, 2014

A couple of months ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to take a three-day vacation with some friends, and no kids. I love my kids. I love spending time with my kids. My world revolves around my kids. But I REALLY loved the idea of having a three-day-long date with their dad. Getting a sitter and going out without children was a rare occurrence for a lot of years and being gone overnight was nonexistent. However, these last few years, our oldest daughter has been able to return home on a few occasions and stay with our younger children so we can get away for a few days at a time. Even though our daughter knows all the younger kids’ routines and her siblings are content to stay with her, I still get nervous and leave lots of lists and instructions. I know it is hard for most moms to leave their kids but I definitely got a double portion of that trait somehow.

Levi, Tate, and Sydney, 2008

So, this past trip, we were supposed to be at the airport at 5:30 AM and the airport is over an hour from our home so we decided we would say bedtime prayers with the little ones, put them to bed and start our vacation one night early in a hotel next to the airport. As we drove away, heading for the airport, I remember feeling almost guilty because I was not as anxious about leaving the kids as I usually am.

The Smith household, Dec. 2014

And this is the part I wish I had on film. It turns out before we had gotten more than a few miles from home our daughter had locked herself out of the house. She stepped into the garage to put a cat out and the door shut, locking her out. But she did not panic. She knew her 16-year-old brother Levi was still awake. She was able to get his attention through his upstairs bedroom window. He came down to let her back in through the garage door but he also stepped out into the garage and the door shut. Now they were both locked out. The two left inside, the two I blog about with special needs no less, were both in bed. Levi went into the backyard and began hollering Tate’s name. Tate was in bed but not yet asleep and he heard Levi through his upstairs bedroom window. Tate came down and let them both in.

Tate and Regan, 2012

So when I talked to my daughter less than an hour after I’d left home, she was able to tell me this humorous story about being locked out of the house TWICE ALREADY! Thus my peace of mind about getting on that plane the next day was reinforced. NOT! The next day when his older sister picked him up at school, Tate greeted her with “Lock yourself out of the house today?” If we mention the experience now in Tate’s hearing he gets a big smile on his face and wants to tell us how he saved the day. Tate got such a kick out of coming to the rescue and his siblings’ blunder that I’m sort of glad they had the whole experience. I just wish there would have been cameras.

This is another one of those times that I wish I'd have caught on tape:  Stinkin' Dogs and a Traumatized Rabbit. 

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