grateful.

I have been hesitant to blog about this one, I think the mixture of me knowing I am a total and complete IDIOT, and also the cold fear of "What if" has been the reason.

I guess all mom's make mistakes, and maybe my experience can make you a little more careful with your own kids.

I was upstairs working in my studio on some projects, I had the window open, cause we had a heat wave and it felt like it was 100 degrees outside. The breeze felt good.

The kids were gone to school, Mikayla downstairs watching a movie, and freshly fed. I had a good couple of hours to work on stuff.

I cranked the music and dug in.

After a while, not sure how long, I came down to the kitchen to get a drink. I hollered at Mikayla. No answer. So I went to the TV room to check on her, and she was gone. I search the house. Nothing. No big deal, she must have went outside. So I get a drink, and go outside to look for her.

The neighborhood is really quiet. I can't hear any kids playing outside. (Most of them are in school.) So I start at her usual places. The next door neighbor, the neighbor across the street, the one around the corner. Nothing.

I walk across the street to see if I can see her at the school, on the playground.
Nothing.

Now I am starting to worry.

I am calling her, and listening for any sound.

Finally I hear a tiny sound. Almost like a kitten, mewing and muffled. And I look, and see some motion. Mikayla is stuck inside my Suburban! Mind you, it was 100 degrees the window were rolled up, it was like a furnace in that thing.

Her poor little face was beet red, and she was covered in sweat. Her cheeks were tear-stained, but she was so exhausted she had long stopped crying. I brought her in and pumped her full of Gatorade, and just rocked her and hugged her, and of course over and over again berated myself for being such a crappy mom.

It was a rough week, to think about what could have happened.

She went out to get her Polly Pocket dolls she left in the Suburban. The door shut, and she couldn't get it back open. I told her if she ever got stuck in a car again, to crawl into the front seat and honk the horn until someone came.

And we lock up now, so she can't get in herself.

Please sit your kids down and talk to them. Sometimes car doors are heavy for even the older ones. (Especially when they have been slightly munched like mine.)