Locked Out and In

It is late in the day. I have been cleaning. All day long. Literally. My Mom and her husband are coming to visit. So a clean house is high on the priority list. The kids have been self entertaining themselves for hours, and I am - tired. As you can imagine we are all strung a little tight.

I have just sat for a bit to enjoy a cup of tea. Marek and Oscar and Tildy are in the closet. Literally. They are challenging themselves to see if all three can fit in this two foot by two foot space. Oscar is pretending to lock the closet with this little metal key he found somewhere. He has been carrying it around all day, and I don't think it is for anything important. He has especially been interested in placing it in and out of the lock on the bathroom door.

"See, Mom. The key fits. It just doesn't turn. Here, you try and turn it."

I have tried. The key most definitely does not fit in the bathroom lock. I know this, because the bathroom door lock does not have a key. A key for the bathroom was not included in the sale of our home.

It is time to resume my cleaning. I get up off the couch, and head to the bathroom for a quick break. Strangely enough, the bathroom door is shut. I feel a sense of doom come upon me. Why would the door be shut if all three kids are in the closet?

"Marek and Oscar and Tildy? Are you in the closet still?"

"Yeah!" they all reply.

I try the knob, and of course, it is locked.

"Marek and Oscar, why is the bathroom door locked?!"

They fall out of the closet to come to my aid. Marek quickly explains. "It's an experiment. Oscar wanted to show me how his key could open the bathroom lock, but it doesn't. You can just climb through the bathroom window like you did last time."

Did I mention yet that this is not the first time this has happened?

"MAREK! How can I climb through the window in the middle of winter? The window is locked and the storm window is on! And I have to pee!" I wail. I feel floored and I resume my perch on the couch to think through the problem. After a day like I have made, a locked bathroom door is simply more than I can handle and crossing my legs until Geoff gets home seems like the best solution. Too bad I just drank that tea...

I may be locked out of the bathroom, but it seems my sense of humor has been locked in.