Did I Really Just Do That?

That was my very first thought after I had stepped outside and shut the door to leave my house about a week and a half ago.

I had only been home for about an hour - just enough time to change out of my church clothes, relax for a few minutes, and eat some lunch after working in the temple all morning. Gabe and I were going to be dog sitting for a friend in just a few days, and she had asked me to come over so she could explain some of the ins and outs before they left. I was in a good mood and texting a couple of people as I got ready to leave. With my phone in hand, I grabbed my purse and headed for the door.

"I feel like I'm not taking very much...but I have my purse and my phone, and it's not cold enough for a jacket, so what else would I need?"

I open the door, lock the handle, step outside and shut the door behind me. As I walk toward the car, it hits me.

"...did I really just do that?"

Yes, I had grabbed my phone and my purse...but the keys were still hanging inside in their usual spot by the door...the door that I had just locked...without any of the spare house keys in my purse. I laugh at myself in disbelief.

"Well at least it's an unseasonably warm day for February, so I'm not out here freezing."

I message Gabe to tell him how silly I am, then begin thinking through my options.

"Ok, well the park manager has a spare key to our trailer, I'll see if he's home."

I walk over to his trailer. No sign of his truck outside, but I knock on his door hopefully anyway.

No answer.

Back to my house to review my other options. I pull the old Murfin's card out of my wallet and try wiggling the door handle as I move the card around. Clearly I have no idea what I'm doing, so I message Gabe again.

"How do you unlock a door with a credit card?"

He responds, "It doesn't work on that door."

Ok, so never mind. Let's try Plan C. I canvass the house and cross my fingers that one of the windows in unlocked. As I get to the back, I'm reminded of the time I was locked inside the house and had to crawl out of my bedroom window. Once again, I think of how bad this must look to passing drivers and laugh at the idea. I find a window that I can move the screen out of the way without breaking and get excited. I push the screen up, then try for the window itself.

No luck.

I'm running out of ideas, what else can I do? Gabe has a spare house key with him, but he's at clinic and I have the car...which I just locked the keys to inside the house... And even if he could get a ride home, he wouldn't be done for another hour and a half.

I give up on being able to remedy the situation myself and text the friend that I should currently be in the car on my way to see.

"So I was just about to head your way...and then I decided to be a genius and lock the door and leave my house without keys..."

After fully apprising her of the situation, she says she'll be over soon to pick me up to bring me to her house, and then pick up Gabe when he's done and give us both a ride home. What a lifesaver! I walk to the front of the Trailer Park and sit on the bench as I wait, thankful for good friends who are willing to save me when I make a silly mistake, and thankful, again, that it is so ridiculously warm for a February afternoon in Missouri.