How to give Mommy a heart attack at the soccer game

Sure, he looks all sweet and innocent doesn't he?

Ha.

Saturday was big brother's first soccer game of the season. It was way too cold outside for Sam to sit. I've boxed up the coats, it's just not supposed to be that cold in the middle of April. So, Sam and I were sitting in the car, I was reading, and I gave Sam a lollipop. I even let him out of his carseat, and into the front passenger seat to eat it. Only had 1, he didn't need to share with anyone, and he was sitting in a big boy seat. He was happy as a clam.

I could see brother, in his new uniform out on the field. They'd given him a size Small, and his pants kept falling down. Coincidently we had last year's XS outfit in the car, so I tried calling Eric. His phone was dead and he couldn't hear me, and Chris's shorts were falling every time he took a step. Sam was fine, so I opted to run the shorts over to Eric. I left Sam in the car.



Yes. Stupid Stupid Stupid. Never leave a child unbuckled alone in the front seat of a car with the windows up. The car wasn't on. But it didn't matter. When I returned, Sam had discovered the buttons, the ones the lock the door. He was playing with the lock one. He had locked himself in the car.

Yes, I began to freak out a little bit. I'm patting on the window, "Push the button baby, push the button...." He pushes Lock again and again. Smiling. Happy. He has a lollipop, he could care less he's locked in the car. Ohmygosh, he has a lollipop, Dumdums are choking hazards! Now I'm freaking out. I start waving at Eric to come. Still suggesting in a higher frequency freak out voice, trying my darndest to be calm and failing miserably, "come on Sam push the button. Push the other one. Push unlock." He didn't care. He had a lollipop.



Finally, after what seemed like decades but what was probably only seconds, Eric saw me and came over to the car. As he approached, I gasped out, "Sam. Locked. Me. Outtathe. Car." Without a word, he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out his spare set of keys to the minivan.

I burst into tears.

Click. Eric opens the car, Sam's fine. Mommy's a blubblering mess. I think it was a good two hours before I calmed down, even longer before I let Sam out of my reach again.