Texas Adventure: Day 2: Worst Way to Meet Your Neighbors

Today we discovered the world's worst way to meet your neighbors. We were getting ready to head back to the hotel from our apartment. (Our household goods still have not arrived.) I had the keys, but Mandy was going to drive. So after I finished putting Ellie in the back seat I tossed the keys into the front seat for Mandy. Apparently the keys hit the console in just the right way to press the lock button. Then I shut door and went to go throw some trash away in the dumpster. Meanwhile Mandy finished loading some bags into the back and shut the back door to get into the driver's seat only to find that the door was locked. She checked all the doors to no avail. I kept trying to think of some way around the truth, but we had just locked Ellie in the car. I knew a locksmith would take far too long so I called 911. They transferred my call to the fire department and they were on their way as soon as I told them what had happened and where we were. This left Mandy and I standing outside the rental car staring in at our daughter sitting quietly in her car seat. Ellie definitely cried during part of the ordeal but she also spent some time playing and staring our at her worried parents. Thankfully we were parked under a carport and the sun was sinking for the evening, so the car was not too hot. One of our neighbors was at his car, heard the commotion, and asked if we were okay. He suggested that we break a window and offered to get a metal bar out of his work truck. I was not very eager to break the window but thankfully I could hear sirens by the time he returned with the metal bar. I could tell that the sirens were approaching so I asked him if he knew the code to let the firemen in the front gate. (Mandy and I have remotes, but they were both locked in the car.) He offered me his keys and I ran off to the front gate just in time to meet the fire truck and open the gate. They had special equipment for entering vehicles similar to what a locksmith would have. They pried open a small gap in the door just wide enough to slip a rod through to press the unlock button inside the door. As soon as we heard the click from the doors unlocking we opened the door and took Ellie out of the car. The firemen were all very friendly and we were very thankful that the fire truck arrived so quickly. Ellie was probably in the car for about five minutes. A couple more neighbors came over once the fire truck arrived. I suppose their intentions were good, but it turned out that they could provide no additional assistance to the firemen. We are so thankful to God for continuing to watch over Ellie. He keeps reminding us that there are countless things beyond our control but not beyond His. We are also thankful for the willingness of a complete stranger to hand me over his keys so I could let the fire truck in the front gate. Nevertheless I still say this was not a very good way to meet our neighbors. Maybe next time we'll just start with a wave a friendly smile.