Thank the Lord for rotten cantaloupe!

Wow! Major parenting faux pas!

So late yesterday morning the kids and I came back from a walk around the neighborhood. I had been pulling the kids in the wagon. When we got back to the garage both kids went into the laundry room to take off their shoes and then head to their rooms to play until lunch was ready.

I put away the wagon, closed the garage door and came in. I noticed the dog was out of water, so I went out on the lanai and casually took in the warm tropical surroundings as I filled the bowl. Then I turned on my radio to have some wonderful music filling our home. I then proceeded to put away some nonperishable items I had dumped on counter from my earlier grocery run. Humm…those apples look yummy. So I begin munching on an apple. I go to put away the rest of the fruit and I notice the cantaloupe I had purchased just a few days before was rotten. I grumbled under my breath what a bummer this was.

I take the cantaloupe into the garage to throw it into the big trash can so it won’t stink up the house. When I open the garage door I hear a faint call of, “Mommy…Mommy.” It sounded like Holden, so I start to go back in and head to his bedroom. Then I hear what sounds like tiny fists on aluminum. This point I realize, “Oh my goodness! This sound is coming from the garage!” But as I start to look around I realize…it’s coming from outside! I push the garage door button. As the door begins to rise the first thing I see are chubby little feet. I had shut him outside of the house! I had no idea. Thank goodness that rotten cantaloupe made me go out into the garage because otherwise I’m not sure I would have noticed for quite a long time!

So I grab him, and I’m holding him and apologizing. The first thing he says is, “Mommy, you left me outside!” I said, “Yes, I know sweetie. I’m so sorry. Were you scared?” He just looks at me and says, “No, I just wanted to come in there.” 🙂 So first thing I do is to inform him that if I ever lock him out of the house again to please ring the doorbell! After that I spent some time thinking the Lord for rotten cantaloupe!

So, why am I sharing this?? I have no idea!!! Perhaps because everything is funnier in retrospect. Or maybe to make you feel better about your own parenting! 🙂 We all have these moments. Accept these humbling experiences as reminders that we can do nothing on our own! The fact is, no matter how great we think we are, we can’t even keep track of our preschoolers without the Lord’s help!! 🙂