As I watched my babies through the glass, tears streaming down my face an elderly man walked past.
“Selfish f**king bitch” he snarled at me. “Typical of your lot.”
His words hardly registered, at the time I was too frantic about my two children – aged just four-weeks old and 23 months – strapped in their car seats centimetres away and yet unable to be reached.
I had locked my kids in my car. It had taken just a moment’s distraction, just a fraction of thoughtlessness.
In seconds I had gone from the midst of a calm ordinary day to my world spinning.
My two children, both under the age of two, one only four weeks old were in danger and it was my fault.
I write this in the wake of US country star Carrie Underwood doing the very same thing.
She announced to her social media followers that her dogs had managed to lock her five-month old son in her car. She was forced to break a window to free the two dogs and her baby boy.
For me it wasn’t the dogs. It was simply my fault.
I had stopped to get a coffee. Blinded by the exhaustion that only the mother of a four-week old knows incredulously I parked the car, loaded myself up with bags and belongings, with the kids still strapped into their car seats I pressed the lock button on my keys while the doors were open. For some reason I still can’t get my head around the fact that I threw them on the front seat after picking up a bag, before shutting the door, and walking around to then try and open the back door to let my children out.
But it was locked and the keys were inside.
What a bloody idiot I thought later.
At the time I simply though oh my f**king god what have I done?
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Hello! I saw that your post had no comments, and so I thought I'd post one. This same thing happened to me today. I don't know what the weather is like in Australia, but I assume hot. I live in Texas, in the USA. Summers here can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (or 49 degrees Celsius. whichever you use) and it doesnt usually get much colder than 30 (-1 C) during the winter unless its a rare occasion. As someone who suffers severe ADHD and possibly short term memory loss, or at least a perpetual tendency to be "ditsy", locking my keys in the car is a very common occurrence. So much so that my boyfriend has my spare key to my car, so that I not only not lose it, but also so he can come to my rescue during all of the inevitable emergencies. Today, i had been working since 8:30 in the morning, sat in traffic for two hours, picked up my 14 month old from her great grandma's, and was finally on my way home at 7 pm. She was fussy in the car because she was tired and hungry, and I kept assuring her we would be home soon. We got home, and parked in our usual spot, and she reached out her hand and said "thank you" (her way of saying I want those/give me that). I was so proud because I knew she wanted my keys, and that she knew that when we pulled up to the apartment that it was time to turn off the ignition and take out the keys. I thought she was so smart. So I turned off the ignition, pulled out the keys and handed them to her. I was rewarded with her delight. But then I immediately became a creature of habit by shifting my legs to the left while opening the door, and then pressing "lock" while shutting it. I walked to the back door and tried to open it. Locked. The keys were in her hand. She looked up at me with a big smile because she loved to play with my keys. Immediately, I didn't just think, I said out loud, "FUCK". "fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck what have I done". She saw the panic in my face and realized I wasn't just playing with her like I usually do, and she looked concerned. Instead of letting my emotions develop and claim their rein, my brain did what it always does in traumatic experiences and I went through every possible solution at light speed. Get into my apartment and find something to unlock the door--no my keys are in the car I cant get into the apartment. Break the window--I found a big rock. WAIT my boyfriend has the spare key, hes at work but I could call his work and say he had a family emergency. So I did. He called his dad to come get the keys since he lived around the corner but his dad wasnt home and long story short I ended up asking the cable guy that happened to appear if I could use his crowbar to break my window. And I did. So now I have a broken window, but a safe baby thats had a bath and some ice cream.