A Story to Tell

"Every family has a story to tell, and this is yours" by Rick, our neighbor.

And, this is how it goes:
It was somewhere after 8pm last night when the girls and I finally pulled up into our driveway after an awesome day at the Oakland ZOO. We saw daddy going grocery shopping when we were on the way home, and I was contemplating whether I should stay with the girls in the car and wait for daddy or just get in the house. According to our neighbor Rick, the tarantula season has already started, and even though I know I won't be able to avoid seeing those little monsters where we live, I'm not ready to face them just yet.

K, however, started calling for juice and Maya started making noises, I knew sitting in the car was not meant to be.

It's worth mentioning that the night before we got a new minivan. I wanted to announce the news in a different post, but it's too late now. Len and I were never minivan lovers. Before having kids, we actually made a promise to each other that we would never buy one (I'm sorry if I'm offending some minivan owners). That changed when we actually went to see and drive one. We've had the car for a little over 24 hours now, and we've been in love with it from the start (except for a couple of hours last night).

Ready to take the kids home, I turned off the engine, put the car keys in my purse, took out the house keys (the car and house keys are still seperate as I didn't have a chance to put them together since getting the new car), unlocked all the doors (I heard them click), opened the door, got out of the car, closed the door, tried to open the kids' door, realized it was locked and that's when the nightmare started.

I tried to quickly open my door to again unlock the back doors, but it was locked. I quickly moved around the car to check the rest of the doors - all were locked. I looked inside, and my purse with the keys was on the passenger's seat.

Without thinking much, I ran to our neighbor's house. At this time Maya was already crying and K was screaming for juice.

Kate: Hi Rick! Sorry to bother you so late. I locked the kids in the car. What do we do ?
Rick: OK. Don't panic.
Kate: But, what do we do?
Rick: Just don't panic. I tend to panic, so let's not panic.
Kate: Can I use your phone; I need to call Len.

Len was just about to pay for the groceries. He told us to stay calm and he would call a tow truck company. I ran to the car and tried as calmly as I could in given circumstances convince K that she was OK, and that everything was fine and that I wouldn't leave - instead I'd stay right next to her.

Hearing both girls cry and not being able to hold them was the worst feeling I've ever experienced. I was close from losing it, but I knew it would make the situation much worse. Len arrived at the scene 15 minutes later. By this time Maya was already quiet and K was crying on and off.

Our security guard stopped by and together with Len and Rick tried to break into our car with no success. It took the tow truck guy another 20 minutes to get to us. The guys were already talking about breaking the window. Len and I tried to guide K how to get out of her car seat to unlock the doors, but instead her arm got tangled in the seat belt, and now she was panicky.

It was such a relief to see a tow truck pull up. It even put a smile on K's face (all that time I tried to explain the situation to her, so she knew we were almost done).

The tow truck man tried one tool, but that didn't work. Then another - no success; then one more and one more and one more - nothing. 10 minutes later the doors were still locked with our girls inside. The guy was running out of ideas. He was using the same tools over and over again with zero success. I kept thinking if I could just get inside to hold my girls; I don't care how long it takes them to open the door, if I can just get inside, they can work on it all night.

Finally Len suggested one maneuver. We all watched with a lot of tension. And it worked!!! The guy unlocked the driver's door activating the alarm. I remember jumping up and down before getting into the car and unlocking the rest of the doors. It was such a joy to be able to touch my girls. K was as happy as she could be and so was Maya... in her own way... snoozing away.

The ordeal cost us $45, but I'll call our insurance to see if we can get reimbursed (not a big deal if we can't, but it doesn't hurt to try).

While still waiting for Len to arrive from the grocery store, our neighbor Rick tried his best to keep me calm and entertained. At one point he said: "Don't worry Kate. Every family has a story to tell, and this is yours."

PS.

Rick: Kate, the girls won't even remember this. You don't remember this from your childhood, do you?
Kate: No, but it's probably because my parents didn't put me through such trauma.
Rick: Yes, they did. You just don't remember it.