Survivors – Parenting Plights & Delights

One look at the gorgeous tiki hut below makes me think of a tropical paradise. Peaceful, relaxing, a place to hang loose. Can you believe this is someone’s back yard in a suburb of Los Angeles?

What a perfect setup for Alexis to house sit for her parents last June. She and little Zack, not quite two, could walk over to visit her 90-year-old grandmother, who lived next door. And what a fun yard for a toddler to run around in.

One late afternoon, Alexis took Zack outside with her to feed the fish in the pond. When she tried to go back in the house, she discovered the door was locked. There’s a gate, but it was padlocked. The key? In the house, of course, and the gate was too high to scale.

It was 4:30. She called over the fence to her grandma, but there was no response. What the heck, Alexis decided she could make do for a few hours until Joe, her husband, got off work at 7:30.

She continued to call to Grandma next door, but Grandma didn’t answer. Inside the house, the landline and cell phone rang off and on. Soon dinnertime rolled around, and Zack needed to eat.

The tiki hut’s shelves weren’t stocked with food, just drinks. She let Zack sip a Coke and hoped it would hold him over until Daddy arrived to rescue them.

Soon Zack filled his diaper, and what a doozie! No wipes and no extra diapers, so she hosed him off and had no choice but to let him run around stark naked. He ran all over the yard, rolled in mud and dirt, laughing and having a blast. He reminded his mother of the wild boys in Lord of the Flies.

All the while the phones kept ringing and Grandma still didn’t answer Alexis’s calls. Joe must have worked overtime because 7:30 came and went. Then darkness fell, so Alexis found matches in the tiki hut and lit the tiki torches so they could see. She helped herself to a Mai Tai and let Zack sip more Coke.

Just when Alexis thought they’d never escape the backyard prison, Grandma arrived at 9:30 to save them. It turned out Joe had been calling and for hours. He finally called Grandma and asked her to go next door and check on Alexis and Zack.

That night they basked in the comforts of civilization, so happy they had survived their back yard adventure.

“No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.”
~ Carrie P. Snow
Have you ever been locked out? What happened?

Do you have a parenting or grandparenting memory
or another story you’d like to share? 
If you’re not a parent, memories from your own childhood count, too. 

Warning: I might feature your story in a future post. 
(Names can be changed to protect the guilty!)

I’d like to thank all those who have shared their stories. 
These posts wouldn’t be the same without your input.

If you don’t want to leave a comment but would rather contact me by email, 
here’s my address: lynkelwoohoo at yahoo dot com.


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9 Responses to Survivors – Parenting Plights & Delights

  1. Other than being hungry, I bet Zack had the time of his life!

  2. Karen Lange says:

    What an adventure! The worst locked out story I had was when I stepped out of my car while it was running and the door swung shut by itself. The car was full of groceries and I had no spare key. Hubby arrived home about an hour later (somehow he missed the part about the car was still running!). Oh well, no real harm done, except some warm milk.Have a great week!

  3. Old Kitty says:

    What a fun place to get locked out in!! But glad grandma came to the rescue by evening time!!Take carex

  4. Gina Gao says:

    This sounds like a really great story! How nice of you to share.www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

  5. LOL sounds like Zack had a great time, and Mom had something to make it a little less stressful! :)I remember one time when I was maybe 6 or 7, when we were out and my mom locked the keys in the car. She had to call a neighbor to get her extra set from our locked-up house. The neighbor's kid had to climb in through a window, which was above our kitchen table, which was still full of a mess from a dinner party the night before – LOL!

  6. Oh man! I'm just glad I've never been locked out with kids. Although one time I climbed onto my neighbors balcony (I lived on the third floor)just to get back inside, That was quite an adventure!

  7. what a great story! I remember breaking in through a basement window when my mom sister and I got locked out…but this one was a doozy like Zack's diaper!

  8. I still can't believe this happened to her! Real life adventures!

  9. I have the funniest visual in my head! Tiki huts and diapers–oh my! I can't remember being locked out of the house, but I've locked myself out of my car too many times. 🙂

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