So last night Eden and I went to the funeral home for my cousin's MIL who passed away from cancer. We went in the height of a thunder storm. It was pouring rain and the wind was blowing me all over the place. We went to the WRONG funeral home (I had a major brain fart!). We did finally get to the correct place and even if you are only close to the ones left behind, it's so emotionally draining. I really dislike that whole ritual.
After that, because Eden was in such a good mood, I decided to go to the Birth Circle meeting. I got there right on time (in the rain, with several of the lights on Hugeunot Rd out) and got out of the car. As I am shutting the door, I had one of those slow-motion "NOOOOOO" moments. My keys and Eden were in the car and I had just locked the door. I saw an old couple getting in to their car, so I ran over to ask if either of them had a cell phone (old couples do not have cell phones). I left the little old lady in the parking lot with Eden and went inside the church to call 911. I felt better once the fire department was en-route to me, but poor Eden was a wreck.
Now this is the part of the story that was so horrible (and hilarious in the light of day). The little old lady must watch a lot of sensational news stories, because when I walked back out to the car she was looking at her watch saying "They better get here soon! A baby has exactly 12 minutes, once trapped inside a car, before they DIE! She's already been in there at least 3, and look, she's gasping for air!". She was "gasping" because she was crying hysterically! Now, I was an EMT and I have taken classes in vehicle extrication, an I know that this was totally ridiculous, but I'm glad she didn't say that to someone who would have thought it was true! Perhaps she saw a news story on the heat and how long it could take to die in a car on one of those 100 degree days. I still think "exactly 12 minutes" is a bit of a stretch. I was in no shape to explain to her that she didn't know what she as talking about. A police man came to wait with us for the FD and he set her straight about the dying in 12 minutes...
The FD arrived and went about breaking into my car. It took them a while, though, because apparently my car has an anti-theft mechanism that doesn't allow you to use the automatic lock button if the door has been pried. While I am standing there in the rain, soaking wet, waiting to hold my screaming child, the old lady patted me on the back to comfort me. She said "Oh No Darling! Your skin is all cold and clammy! You are going into Shock!" Let me remind you, I have now been standing in the pouring rain for 15 minutes and am soaked. No, ma'am, I am not clammy, I'm wet. She ran to her car and got me a blanket and insisted that I wrap up in it! It had cooled down quite a bit, but it still wasn't cool enough to be all covered in a blanket. I just wanted that lady to leave me alone, so I wore it. They tried multiple times to pop the lock and failed. Finally they managed to pull the lock button up and I got Eden. She was soaked in sweat and tears.
We went inside and nursed for a while and snuggled before we went into the meeting. The meeting was great, though I went looking like a drowned rat!
What a traumatic night for me! Fortunately Eden won't remember any of it!
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