[blparent] A Little Scare

[Jo Elizabeth Pinto]

Sarah and I had a little scare this evening.  I'm writing about it in hopes that it might save someone else the trauma.  We're none the worse for wear, but unexpected things can happen so quickly you wouldn't believe it.

We went out on the front porch to brush Ballad, my black Labrador guide dog, who is shedding right now like there's no tomorrow.  We'd been out there a half hour or so, with the front door standing open, and Sarah was playing with the combs and brushes.  She had wandered in and out of the house a few times, so I didn't think anything of it.  But then she went in and, quick as a flash, pushed the big wooden front door shut.

Click!  The door was locked.  Sarah was in the house by herself.  I was on the porch with Ballad, but with no harness or leash, no keys, and no cell phone.  Sarah soon got upset, banging on the window by the door and crying for me to let her out.  I was stuck.

I always carry a spare key with me, but it was safely in the diaper bag, which was in the house.  One other person who lives in town nearby has a key, but I had no phone to call her with.  I went to the nearest neighbor's house and pounded on his door, but he wasn't home.  I didn't want to leave Sarah alone to go further, looking for another neighbor and not able to be quick about it with no cane or dog, because I thought it would be worse for her if she was by herself and couldn't see or hear me.  Gerald was due home in about a half an hour, and I knew it would take nearly that long for my friend with the key to wake up since she works nights, drive over to my house, and let me in.  So I decided that the best plan was to keep Sarah near the window where she could see me, and where I could hear her and know she was all right.  If it were going to be longer than a half an hour, I would have gone as far as need be to find a phone and called my friend or the police department.

Let me tell you, that was the longest half hour I've ever lived through.  Sarah was crying and yelling inside the house the whole time, begging me to open the door.  I just kept as calm outwardly as I could and talked to her, tapping on the window so she would look out at me and telling her that everything would be okay, that the door was locked and I couldn't open it but Daddy would be coming home soon with the keys.  Inwardly, I felt like I was about to lose my mind.

Gerald arrived as expected, and Sarah was fine.  She was easily consoled, but she was pretty clingy all evening, and she's woke up calling for me once already since I put her to bed.  (Boy, does that make me feel like the mother of the year or what?)  All's well that ends well, but I can say for sure, I'll be having another key made this weekend and hiding it somewhere outside.  I've never felt so helpless.  I wanted to smash through the window and get inside to my crying baby any way I could.  I'm feeling weepy just thinking about it.  I'm already a plan for everything type, thinking of what could happen and bringing extra stuff with me just in case, but I'm sure I'll be even more that way for some time to come.

Jo Elizabeth