He's my hero

Mood: distraught, but recovering

"La-la-la-la-la lady-bug...bu-bu-bu-bu-bu butter-fly-y...doo-doo-doo-doo-doo doodlebug..."  I sing, repeatedly, looking in at Audrey, who's crying in her carseat.  She's upset, I'm frantic, and yes, the keys are locked in the van.  I can see them, on the driver's seat, mocking me as I pull on a door I know will not open.  I'm trying not to cry too, I need to get the kids from school, Mr W. has left for work, and of course, there is no extra set of keys in the house. 

What the hell do I do, I wonder, trying NOT to panic, and fighting the tears.  If she sees me freak out, she'll freak out.  I sing the song again, for her, for me, and try to come up with a plan.  Page him.  Call him.  No answer. Crap, I think, he's probably halfway to Tempe by now.  Call the school.  Tell them to have all the kids (my own and the ones I give rides too) assemble in the office until I can come up with something, explaining my situation. 

Who's home?  Call my Mom, in hopes of staying calm, but she can't help me, so I hang up.  Call Mr. W again.  Nothing.  Double crap.  Hey, try our other friend that lives close by that is a police officer too.  Not that he can magically open the door, but I know he might calm me down and at least give me ideas about who else to call...ok, got the machine. Crap, crap, crap!

She's crying again.  Sing the verse real quick.  Tell her Mommy won't leave her, and that she's trying to get help.  Thank goodness we're in our own garage, and it's a beautiful day outside and not 114 degrees in July or something.  HEY!  I call dispatch and explain real quick what's going on and remember Mr. W went in early because he had a class to teach.  Yes!  He's still at the station!   So they say they will try to reach him, and I begin to breathe again.

Oh, her little face is killing me.  "Bu-bu-bu-bu-butter-fly-y", I sing and my voice cracks.  No lloras, no lloras, no lloras (don't cry)...

Dispatch comes back on.  "He's in a training room. We're sending someone down there to get him." "Oh, great," I reply. "He doesn't have to come, even if someone could just bring me his keys, that would be perfect," I say, worried about bugging him.  I have to say, they were pretty nice about the whole thing, they offered to send Fire out to me, but I mean, I wasn't THAT frantic yet, and Audrey was ok, just crying, so I was willing to hang on a sec before calling them out.  And suddenly, while I'm on hold again, my cell rings.  It's Mr. W. 

I hold it together, tell him what's going on, ask him to send me the keys, and he says "I'll be right there."  Phew.  I'm still concerned about his class, but there's nothing I can do about that now.  When dispatch comes back on the line, I thank them for their help, and let them know I did get to speak to him.  Call the school and tell them I'll be there as soon as I can, that helps on its way, and were they able to corral everyone?  The office lady says yes, and that all are fine.  I let Audrey know Daddy's coming.  And I start to sing to her again, because she asks me too. 

He gets here in about 10 minutes, and I am somewhat composed by now.  I don't want to leave the side of the van, but I do anyway, so I can grab the keys from him.  But he gets out of his car before I can reach him.  I was worried he was gonna be annoyed, but instead, he's so, so, calm.  And not irritated.  Just his usual, laidback self.  He walks up to the door where Audrey is, and opens it.  He talks to her and asks her if she's ok.  And she cries a bit, but smiles at him anyway. "I was stuck," she says, with a quiver in her voice. "But you're ok now," he says. He smiles at me and as he shuts her door, points at the tears that are stuck on the outside of the van, teasing me. "Shut up," I say, "Thanks, honey.  Sorry."  He gives me a kiss and leaves again.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love him so much. 

He's calm.  I'm not saying he doesn't get mad, or overreact, because he does, but he doesn't do it often, and he never does it for something like this.  He's laidback, and that has rubbed off on me.  I come from some pretty volatile folks, so this is a good thing.  He swoops in, gets it done, and doesn't make me feel stupid about it. (Of course, I'm sure he's gonna tease me later, but he's not gonna make me feel bad.)  I really appreciate that calmness when I'm all worked up about something.  And at times, I really hate that calmness when I'm all worked up about something.  It just depends ;) and like anything else, is just part of being married.  But what a guy, right?

I was feeling overwhelmed today, all these things to do, and now I have to add something to my list.

I wonder if they make keys at Target?