Locked Out

Moe got mad today while the kids and I were outside doing yard work this afternoon.  Naturally, he went into the house and locked all the doors before coming out himself.

Life tip:  If you’re going to seek vengeance on your family by locking them out of the house, have the good sense to stay inside and mock them through the window.

He came back outside, barefoot, and told me that the doors were locked.  Because I’ve known him well for the past four years and change, I didn’t doubt him.  Just to be sure I checked, though.  Locked.  David was at an appointment 2.5 hours away, and not set to be back until after supper.

My attempt at breaking and entering lasted all of 30 seconds, while I tried to open our (also locked) basement windows.  Maybe it’s good that I was an utter failure, or I’d be tempted to give up everything for a life of crime…

At any rate, I found Moe some garage boots, loaded Bea and Cee up in the stroller (she’s been getting tired and limpy) and set off to church.  Not only did church have bathrooms, but also a phone, which I could use to make a (local!) call to my mom.  My mom is one of my ICE contacts all the time, but in this particular situation, she also was in possession of the closest spare key given David’s appointment.

I didn’t tell the kids where we were going.

On our walk, (which was not as refreshing as it should have been, given that we’d already spent time outside working), I noticed Elle wearing her backpack.

“Got anything useful in there?” I asked, hopefully.  She listed off a bunch of useless things like paper and Legos.
“So…no waterbottles?  Diaper and wipes? Snacks?”  Elle and Cee shared a look.  A look.
“Wait…what else do you have in there?!?!”
“Well…this morning I grabbed a loaf of bread,” Elle said sheepishly.

Sigh.  If I want creative, curious, kids, I can’t get upset when they act creatively.  Or weirdly.  Probably weirdly in this case.

I assured her that we wouldn’t need the bread and asked if anyone had a plan for where we should wander.

“We could go to Grandma’s,” someone suggested.  I said that that was a good option, but that we were going to stop by church (which is much, much closer to our house) instead.

“What could church offer that might help us?” I asked the kids, wanting them to problem solve.  Everything is an opportunity for learning, after all.

“Shelter?” the first kid answered.

“True…but since the garage was open, we technically already had shelter at home.”

“Jesus?” one of the kids piped up.

Nerp.  “That’s right, but not necessarily immediately helpful to our situation.”

“Toys to play with in the childcare room?”  Also true, but not a super pressing need.

“What about bathrooms?” I offered.  There was some general agreement, but I could tell that they thought the toys were a better answer.

I got tired of the problem solving game. “And a phone to call Grandma to see if she has the spare key.”  Everyone was relieved to know that our wandering had an end.  Especially me, pushing an already cumbersome stroller with a 9 and 2 year old.

Eventually we arrived at church, and the kids headed to the childcare room while I used the phone.

It wasn’t long before my mom brought the spare key, and we were able to get into the house without breaking a window.  Cee remarked how the (brief) experience made her grateful to have a house.  My conclusion was that we should really do a unit study on survival skills soon.  The kids are one loaf of bread away from perishing in the woods.  I’m sort of disappointed after having introduced The Swiss Family Robinson movie to the kids a couple months ago.

 

Maybe I’ll be add this guy to our library holds list:

 

and we can reread this guy:

 

That’s a good start.  Any other suggestions are welcome.

 

Cee’s right though, about being grateful through the irritation of today.  It’s not just having a house– it’s having places to go and people to call when there’s trouble.  That makes us very lucky indeed.  To be honest, I’m also pretty grateful we didn’t have to break into that backpack bread…

 

 

Day 1:  I’m baaaaaack!
Day 2:  The House Sitchiation
Day 3: An ER Adventure
Day 4: First Reconciliation Head to Head
Day 5: Packing Struggles
Day 6: This Is Us Bookless Club
Day 7: Just Take Me Now
Day 8:  Hair Trouble
Day 9:  The Crutch of Comfort
Day 10: The Whole Truth About My Summer Break
Day 11: Popcorn and Cardboard
Day 12: Locked Out

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