Life

This is how the last 23 minutes of my life just played out.

2:18
"Ellie, I'm going to switch the laundry. Stay right here and play with your dolls. Okay?"
"-K-"

2:18 - 2:23
The laundry has been switched, and I go back to my apartment. (small side note: although I do not have a washer and dryer in my apartment, the laundry room for the building is right outside my front door. Lest you think I'm a completely horrible mother and are picking up the phone to call CPS you should know that the laundry room is closer to my living room than my bathroom. And I go in there and close the door several times a day.)

I turn the door knob to find it locked. Oh crap!

2:23 - 2:26
Spend several minutes trying to explain to my 2-year-old how to unlock the door that she just locked.

2:27
Give up and start banging on all the neighbors doors. What!? How can no one be home at 2:30 in the afternoon? Oh right! They are all at work.

2:29
Try again to explain to Ellie how to unlock the door so mommy can get in. I hear my keys rattling and banging against the door. Realize that my efforts are futile and try to come up with a plan.

2:30
Remember that my neighbor down the street is also a stay at home mom. Cross my fingers and pray that she is home. Try not to think about having to climb in the window if she's not.
As I'm walking and shivering (I'm wearing a short-sleeve shirt with no jacket in 20 degree weather), I consider running. Quickly decide that's not an option and waddle faster, pausing for a really bad contraction. Ouch!
Try to remember exactly which apartment she lives in, hoping that I don't have to knock on all 12 doors to find hers.

2:33
Hooray! She's home. I use her phone and call the only phone number I can think of at the time--my friend Marni. Explain the situation, ask her to drive to another person's house, pick up my spare key, and bring it to my house. I would have asked my neighbor to do that, but she's new in town and didn't know how to get to the house where my key is kept.

2:37
Neighbor drives me home. She's super nice! It's cold and my contractions are picking up.

2:38
Talk to Ellie through the door. She's still trying to unlock the door from the inside with my keys.

2:40
Marni shows up with my spare house keys. I unlock my door and open it 5 inches before it stops. "Ellie, did you put something in front of the door?"
"Uh-huh."
"Can you move it please so mommy can get in?"
"No. Here your keys mama."
I reached my toe in and kicked something far enough to get the door open wide enough for me to squeeze in. And with this belly, there was a lot of squeezing going on!

2:41
Thank Marni a dozen times. Close the door and have a serious discussion with Ellie about not touching the lock on the door. She looks up at me and says, "I need some juice."

Sure glad that lesson sunk in.

Now I'm done typing this and I realize that my laundry is still in the laundry room, probably ready to rotate again, and it's nearly time to pick up Makayla from preschool.

I'm completely exhausted!!