Owning a Honda Odyssey: Words to the Wise

Originally, I was going to post about a book we found at the library a couple weeks ago, but recent events have led me to more pressing topics.  Don't worry, I'll still post about it later ... :)

A couple of years ago - just before C was born - we had the great fortune of buying a new-to-us 2007 Honda Odyssey EX for our growing family.  It was (and is) truly a blessing and gift from God, especially as we just finished paying it off last month - 8 or so years early!  But I digress ...

It came - as most more recent minivans do - complete with automatic sliding doors.  Despite my constant nagging - "don't play with the doors," "the doors are not a toy," "leave the doors alone," etc., etc., L will almost always come back to opening and closing her door unnecessarily just for the fun of it.  Admittedly, if I were a kid, I would probably think it was fun too.

But today was not fun.  After picking her up from preschool, pulling into the garage, turning off the car, opening the back doors and unbuckling her, I went around to the other side to get C out.  In the meantime, L decided to close her door (while still IN the car) and then proceeded to see what would happen if she squeezed her fingers in-between the shrinking space just as the door clicked shut.  It happened so fast, I didn't even have time to realize what she was doing, let alone to tell her to move her hand.  So, what happened?  Well, try as I might, I could NOT get the door to open.  I tried pushing the button by the steering wheel that I normally use, ran around to the other side to try to pull it open, ran back around to turn off the power and see if I could open it that way, tried pulling her hand out from the inside ... nothing worked.  I started going into panic mode, trying all of these methods a few times ... by this time, L was crying as she was realizing, well, her hand was stuck!

Finally, I called A at work to ask his advice, my hands literally shaking as I dialed his work number a couple of times before getting it right (his cell phone battery was dead).  After telling him what was going on, he suggested turning the car back on and trying the door again or calling 911 ... So I tried the starting the car first and ... VOILA!  It worked!  I honestly don't know who was more relieved - me or L - but I'd be surprised if it was her.  Her fingers were fine.  Thankfully, they're so small, they just had deep indentations from being squeezed for so long.  No bruises or anything - just the mental trauma of being so scared.  It took a while to calm her down and she's been a little extra sensitive ever since, but hopefully she learned her lesson!  And I learned mine, which I am passing on to you.  I don't know if all automatic sliding doors are the same, but if you ever find yourself in the same situation, save yourself a lot of time and turn the car on!  Aish ... Those automatic doors are definitely more of a curse than a blessing, but it's hard (I think) to find a newer van that doesn't have them.

As a side note, it is amazing as a parent to vicariously experience my children's pain (physical and emotional) and how much WORSE it is than my own.  This isn't the first time, of course, and I know there will be ups and downs for the rest of their lives ... probably only worsening the older they get.  But it makes me understand a lot more why my parents cared so much (and still do) that I made/make good decisions.  For me, as their daughter, I know I'm fine.  God is always with me, teaching me through the bad and constantly molding me to be a better person through the easy and hard times.  Bad times will come, but I know that with God's help, I can get through anything.  However, for me, as a mother, while I know these things are also true for my daughters - God is with them, teaching, molding and shaping them to be better girls and women for Him just as He is with me - it is so much harder on the other end of it.  Oh if they only knew ... but they won't until they're mothers themselves and by then, it'll be too late.  I will probably have vicariously suffered through them much more than they realize (sorry Mom & Dad!).  The good news is that just as God was/is with me through the hard times of my own life, I know He'll continue to be with me (and them) through the hard times of each of their lives.  Thank you, Lord!