Today

Surprisingly, today is not a Tuesday (more on what our Tuesdays are like here).

Today is a Wednesday.

We came home from a good, but busy morning seeing the doctor to a little bit of chaos. You see, we are still in the throes of potty training . . . and when potty training involves two year olds, (in my opinion) that means that it not only involves teaching them a skill but it also involves a bit of a power struggle over who decides when one needs to go potty. My little William is quite determined and was having a stubborn, independent streak and decided that he would rather play than tell me about his potty need. So, he had a big “accident” in his pants. He knew I was upset with him (it was clear that he chose to not tell me that he needed to go to the bathroom), and I told him to wait for me in the bathroom while I finished taking care of Anna. In his little fit of rage, he shut the bathroom door (which he knows he is not to do), and he locked it. We live in an old home with old doors and knobs and locks . . . and this lock is hard to “lock” and even harder to “unlock.”

Mr. Determination locked himself in the bathroom.

Being the wonderful mom that I am, I immediately called Hatch at work for help and I ran downstairs and grabbed the screw driver. I was able to get the knob and plate off the door, but I could not get to the locking mechanism. Meanwhile, William is screaming that he is ready to GET OUT of the bathroom, that he needs to go potty, and that he needs a grown up to help him. Bless his pointed little head, as my Uncle Fred says! Daddy and I determined that I had done all I could do, so he grabbed his cape and Super Hero Daddy flew in for the rescue.

William was quite upset, and I could see the big tears rolling down his red cheeks through the hole in the door where the knob used to be. I could tell that he was starting to panic and get scared, so we talked about the Bible verse that the boys have recently learned. My cousin, Kelly, gave us this great little bedtime prayer book for Anna’s Baptism, and the boys memorized one of the verses from a paraphrase of Psalm 23. So, peeping through the hole with big tears on his face, William said “The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need.” We talked about what that means, and how we can tell Jesus when we are scared. We can ask him to help us anytime—with whatever we need. William and I prayed together: for Jesus to help him get out of the bathroom and for Jesus to help him not be scared. Through his sobs, William prayed these things. Right as we finished praying, Super Hero Daddy rolled on into the house—our very own Clark Kent—he showed up all handsome in his shirt and tie with his tool box and crow bar in hand.

Because of the layout of the lock, Hatch had to drill a hole through the door in order to manipulate the lock and get the door open. I would have had no idea how to do this. My next plan of action was to call the firemen, which would have been exciting, but having them break down the door would not have been too pretty, I’m sure!

Right before our very own Super Hero got to work on the door, we slipped William some stickers under the crack (never have I been so thankful for doors that leave gaping wide cracks underneath them!) to keep himself entertained. This is what we found when we got him out of the bathroom. The sticker in the center of his foot says it all: CRAZY.

(yes, this is my life.)

I am excited to say that now, about an hour later, our Super Hero has returned to his day job, two little boys are sleeping soundly in their beds after an exciting rescue mission, and Sister is sawing logs as well. Despite the fact that this episode was rather short-lived, I am exhausted. Exhausted, but quite glad that I will not have to buy a new bathroom door anytime soon. And, for the record, our bathroom door may never lock again. EVER. Super Hero is going to swing by the hardware store and pick out a non-locking knob and plate for our use from here on out. Consider yourself forewarned: our bathroom door does not lock!