Waiting for it to become funny...

When I was a baby (back in the 70's), my mother had an incident she has recalled at times when I feel like I am the worst mother in the world or am stressing out over a parenting issue. I have to say she tells the story exactly the same every time and every time I can picture the entire event unfolding in my mind.

My mom is in her nightie (you know the 70's kind-short, kinda see thru, and clingy) making pancakes with her baby in her highchair and music playing in the background. In the distance she hears the garbage truck and realizes neither her husband or herself has put the garbage out. So to avoid being seen in her nightie, she quickly goes out and puts the garbage on the curb before the garbage truck gets to our house. Phew, that was a close one...she walks quickly back to the door, turns the knob...and it is locked! Oh, no! Baby inside, mommy outside, and the door is locked!
So she goes around back to try the sliding glass door. She can now see her baby playing in her highchair awaiting a pancake. THE PANCAKES...eyes dart to the stove where the pancake is cooking!

I'm fine, my mom is fine. She freaked, the neighbors called the fire department, and all turned out fine. However, not only did the garbage men see my mom in her nightie, but so did the neighbors and the fire department! LOL...

Ok, cute, funny, and true story which usually makes me feel better. Not this time. I keep waiting for what happened on Wednesday to be funny, if it ever will.

We drove 1.5 hours to my oldest daughters Endocrinologist doctor appointment for her Type 1 Diabetes. A routine appointment that lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. Ethan was great, he started getting fussy towards the end. So when we were done I asked Macy to take Ethan out and walk him around in his stroller, entertain him while I checked out, made the next appointment, and paid our co-pay.
I am almost done, sign here...here's this card and that card...put next appointment in my calender...and I overhear in the front office a woman talking to the check-in nurse. "The doors opened, and there he was all by himself. I don't know who would leave a baby in the elevator all by himself"...I casually glance up and around the corner to see MY BABY! Holy you know what! I dropped my phone, wallet, and purse on the counter ran around the corner and scooped up Ethan. In the corner of my eye I see Macy out in the hallway, running to the other elevator frantically.
I was so thankful, but also concerned Macy would be freaking out thinking she lost her brother. So I said, "thank you, I will be right back" and took Ethan with me to the elevators. We got in and went down. When the doors opened there was my 15 year old daughter breathing hard and freaking out...gasping when she saw her brother in my arms.
It's important to know that Macy is very responsible with her siblings (aside from the occasional fight between her and the twins), nothing like this has ever happened before. She is so protective of her brother there are times I find myself reminding her that he is my son.
So I asked her, "How the hell did Ethan end up in his stroller in an elevator all by himself?" Well it turns out she was playing a game of peekaboo with him. it escalated from the stroller cover to the elevator. She thought that the doors would partially close and she would push the button and they would open back up. Well that didn't happen.
When we got back up to the doctors office (in this 3 story very large medical building) the woman who had brought my son into the office was gone. I never got a chance to really thank her and talk to her. How did she know to bring him to that office? Its a big building and she wasn't seeing the doctor in that office? What I do know is that I could have lost my baby and I am truly thankful that the woman who was standing at the elevator when it opened was an honest and caring person. So whoever and where ever you are, Thank you for saving both of my children...my son from being lost and my daughter from a life of horror (from self-blame) for losing her baby brother.

Now you may be asking how can this ever be funny? Well, we watch a TV show called Modern Family. There is an episode where everyone goes to Hawaii and Cam and Mitchell leave their daughter Lily in the elevator while having a argument...Gloria is waiting for the elevator and it opens...she sees Lily in her stroller, and says, "Lily, where are you going?" Then she brings the baby with her and runs into the frantic crazy parents yelling "seal off the island". It was very funny, on TV.

So when I told my husband what happened on the phone while driving home, he said "I hope you are able to laugh at it now". Um, nope not yet! Maybe never!