My Worst Nightmare Happened

We call her, "Shay the baby".

 This is the face of an almost 14 month old after she gets locked in the car. Yep, it happened, my worst nightmare. It was a regular Wednesday morning where Juliette had school at 9:00 am. Unfortunately, the car the family lets me drive needed gas (we were on E). So I had to rush our morning routine a little faster than normal so we could leave earlier to be able to get gas AND make it to school by 9:00 am. We left the house at 8:25 am and I thought to myself, "Well, that should give me MORE than enough time". You see, the Acadia I drive has a small issue with the gas tank. It does this thing when you pull the fuel level too far (to make the gas go faster), it stops as if the tank is full, except it's not. So you have to sit there and slowly pull the level and to fill the take completely from E, it will take around 14 minutes. I've got this down to a science now so I was more than prepared to pump the gas on Wednesday.

Once we left the house I noticed there was a lot more traffic than I had anticipated but I still figured, "no biggie I can make it". Except, by the time I got to my preferred gas station, it was already 8:45 am and I knew that would be cutting it too close for Juliette. So I chose not to get gas before school.

Instead, I chose to get gas after I dropped Juliette off. I pulled into the gas station at 9:15 am and decided to pay cash (which I NEVER do). So, I took Shay out of her car seat and brought her inside with me - obviously. I paid $10 cash and went back to the car and put Shay back IN her car seat. Now, my brain was a little scattered because I felt as if something was "off" about the gas station. There were so many people going in and out and walking past the car so I knew to lock the car doors because that's what your supposed to do, right? I left Shay's door open while I was slowly pulling the fuel lever all while trying to buckle her in with one hand. Sure, that wasn't the brightest idea but I wanted to multitask and make sure she was covered with the blanket, buckled in, and also wanting to put the gas in the tank. After I put the $10 in the car I put the fuel nozzle back where it belongs and finished buckling Shay in, but my one hand had the keys in them, so I threw them in the right side of the car seat. After I checked everything twice, I did what I always do, shut the door and open the driver side door. But guess what, I LOCKED THE CAR AND FORGOT TO UNLOCK IT... Let's just say that my next few words were not kid friendly and I'm glad Shay is only 14 months old. 

So how was I feeling? You could say I was overwhelmed, scared, shaking, and almost hyperventilating. Oh, I also left my phone in the car so I obviously had to go find one. Luckily, nobody was left at the gas station so I quickly ran inside to ask the clerk to borrow her phone (also not my best move). I called my boyfriend first because he always knows how to calm me down and he told me what to do. He called 911 for me because I was a mess and he also drove to the gas station to stay with me - luckily he works only a few miles away.

You might be wondering what Shay was doing and how she was feeling. Well, after I called for help I went back to the car and stood in front of her door just watching her. I can tell you, she was a lot calmer than me. In fact, she was LAUGHING at me. Little does she know what just happened or how long she could be in there by herself, but still she was a champ. Sure, she cried a few times only for a minute each and I knew I had to distract her but not too much so she wanted out of the car. We played peek-a-boo for a good 5 minutes and then Nick (my boyfriend) arrived. She recognized him and was once again, calm, where I was opposite...sobbing and shaking. I don't remember how much time passed but finally a kind police man arrived just in time.

A few things crossed my mind once he showed up:
1) Am I going to get a ticket?
2) Is he going to have to break the window? "I can't afford that!" "The family leaves for vacation TOMORROW, this window has to stay in tact!"
3) Is he going to think I stole the car and the baby because they're NOT mine?!
3) Oh my gosh, the parents are going to KILL me or worse, FIRE me.
4) I really wish Juliette was here right now, she could unlock this door and we could go home.
5) I hope Shay doesn't hate me.

The police man got out of his vehicle and could probably see I was distraught and I just see him give a smirk. I ask myself, "Why is he smiling? This is not funny! Hurry up walk faster!".

And this is the conversation that we had in the three minutes he was there:
Police Man: "I see you locked yourself out of the car"
Me: "Yes officer, I also have a baby in there, I'm her nanny. Are you going to have to break the window?"
Police Man: Smiling and laughing once again, "No, you'll see"
Me: At this point I'm confused why he is laughing and smiling. I am not doing either of those things and just want Shay out of the car. So I asked him, "Are you any good at this?"
Police Man: "I get about three calls a day for this, you could say I have experience."
Me: "This really happens THAT often? I feel like a dummy as well as a terrible nanny right now."
Police Man: Rigs up his tools in the door, "Have you had to do this before in this vehicle?"
Me: "Personally not me, this is the first time, but I sure as sh*t hope the family has done this before because I feel awful right now!"
Police Man: Pumps whatever tool it's called, uses the hook, and BAM, the door is unlocked. He looks at me and says, "And you doubted me".
Me: "No, I doubted myself and will never do this again."
Police Man: "I'm just going to need to see your drivers license."
Me: Thinking, "Oh sh*t. Am I in trouble? I knew it. I'm screwed. It was nice knowing you Shay."

Turns out he just wanted to make sure I had my license on me. I didn't get a ticket, he didn't call the parents, and Shay was out of the car in my arms. My morning was traumatizing for what seemed like only me because Shay was fine. I  stood outside the car with her wrapped in her blanket in my arms for another ten minutes, I wasn't letting her go.

I was a wreck all day long and knew when their mom got home I had to tell her what happened. I said to her, "There was an incident today, I kind of locked Shay in the car at the gas station." She looks at me and she too was smiling and laughing. I'm kind of standing there thinking, "What the hell is going on? Why does everyone think this is funny. This is NOT funny. I should be getting yelled at." She says to me, "HAHA I've done that before."
I wasn't fired thankfully but I learned to keep the keys on me at ALL times as well as to slow down at times.
Thankfully the mom has a sense of humor because the next day I offer to fill the tank completely for her so she doesn't have to do it herself that night before vacation and she texted me back saying, "That would be great! Just don't lock the kids in the car ;)".

Time Flies

After six years of working behind a computer for an automotive supplier, I took a leap of faith and looked for opportunities to become a nanny. I chose this switch because I was unhappy where I was at and felt like I wasn't going anywhere with the company and also couldn't see myself working there another year. I chose to become a nanny because I wanted to work with kids and see them grow up. The only experience I had to offer was babysitting over the years through middle and high school and I thought that would be enough. After 5 months of searching and interviewing with families, I found a family that I really enjoyed and wanted to work with but didn't hear back from them for another two months. I kept looking despite not hearing back from them right away and found another family that I adored. Once I got the call from my top family that I wanted to work for I was ecstatic (actually, that's a understatement). I trained with their mom for a whole week to get the hang of how they went about their days and I was more than ready and excited to start. 

I officially started full time working for them a week before Thanksgiving of 2016. It's crazy to think that I've almost been with them a whole year because I've seen firsthand that, time really does fly by with kids, they grow up in a blink of an eye. There are three girls that I watch daily - Corinne who is 14, Juliette who is 4, and Shay who just turned 1 this August. Corinne doesn't really need "watching" but I occasionally become her chauffeur for Color Guard practice or singing lessons. Juliette goes to preschool four days a week in the mornings now so that leaves me and Shay to play together for the time while Juliette is away. Once I pick up Jules from school we fill the rest of our days with games, reading, and trips to the parks or Rochester Play. I love having days where I am also going because I don't feel like the girls get bored as easily as I would just watching them play. 

Before I became a nanny I didn't think I could become attached to these girls as much as I am. I don't mean the creepy attached, but the kind of attached as if they were my own. After I leave the girls for the day (anywhere between 4-5:30), I often find myself wondering what they are doing, what are they eating, how cranky Shay is being, or how crazy and loud Jules is. If you would have told me two years ago that I would love what I am doing, I would have told you that you were crazy. Before last year, I told myself I didn't want to have kids because I knew I was too selfish. Today, that thought has done a 180 and I'm so excited for my future. I'm excited to see my own kids grow up. But this job also showed me that I want to be in my children's lives on a daily basis, I don't want someone else to help raise them (that part is selfish, I know), but I also know that in order to have kids nowadays, you need to have a mother and father to both work because let's face it, kids are EXPENSIVE. As much as I would love to stay home with the kids all day, I don't think it would be financially smart, which is where my uneasy for kids comes back into play. 

I hope you all keep following the girls' and I on our journey of growing up because let me tell ya', these girls have a sense of humor!