Sweaty hugs

Gabriela and I are house sitting. Our friends Josh and Marylynn are in Canada right now and they are letting us stay at their place until we find something for ourselves. Its a nice place in Petionville, a second story apartment with a nice breeze coming through it. The day we came back from Canada together, I immediately noticed a potential child hazard. The main entrance door at the top of the stairs has the kind of lock that automatically locks when you close it - so unless you have a key, you can't get back in. I right away warned Martha (Gabriela's nanny) about it and told her never to go downstairs unless she had keys with her. I also told her I would get a copy made to hide in the garage.

Well, tonight after a long day out visiting friends, doing laundry, going to my office for a few hours, Gabriela and I came home. We had some food, cleaned up a bit and then had a shower. We were hanging out some clothes to dry when I remembered that we were low on water, so I quickly ran downstairs to turn the pump on while Gabriela was taking down the socks I had just hung up.

I threw the pump on and then headed up the stairs, only to see the light pouring through the doorway quickly dim as the door clicked shut. Gabriela had pushed it closed. That moment was a blur, but I'm pretty sure I swore. I ran to the top of the stairs and asked Gabriela if she could open the door. It's a bit tricky for her to open it and I'm not sure she's ever really done it before. She couldn't do it and I couldn't explain it. So, I asked her to get the keys. She loves playing with keys and definitely knows what they are and what they are used for. She ran to the kitchen and I heard her climb up on a chair to grab the keys I had thrown down there when we came home. I heard her running back with keys jingling! Yes, saved! I asked her to give them to me, but she wanted to stick them in the keyhole on her side, which she couldn't do either. Then she dropped them and as I peeked under the crack under the door, I saw that they were the keys for my office. Yikes!

"Gabriela, please go get the OTHER keys." Pitter patter as she runs back to the table, and I hear keys again!!! Great. This time I convince her to push them under the door to me. Wrong keys - these were my car keys. This whole time I am freaking out in my mind because there is absolutely no way to get in the house besides this door. All the windows are barred and the only other door is the same kind of door coming down from the roof.

I forgot to mention, I am only wearing my boxers this whole time. So I'm imagining having to go the neighbours or something, ask them to help me somehow. Until I realize that I'm actually locked in the garage - because we padlock the garage from the inside - that key is on the same key chain still on the table somewhere. I'm talking to her very gently, trying not to sound worried or stressed so she doesn't freak out. She's handling it all very well but I start to imagine the worst - sleeping in the stairwell until the nanny comes the next morning, with Gabriela stuck inside the whole time.

I forgot to mention that I am also sweating buckets.

"Ok Gabriela, can you please go get the OTHER keys, the ones with the pink holder."

"Ok papa," she says as she hits the floor running for the kitchen again.

This time she comes back with the right keys. She pushes them under the door and I open it.

SAVED. I give her a HUGE sweaty hug.

So sweaty that she pushes me away and says, "Papa bath?"


How could you be mad at eyes like these!???