Surviving Sam

Surviving Sam

Being a long-distance Grandma is no fun. But then maybe if I lived closer to my little ones, I might not survive all the heart stopping action of daily life with my 5 grandkids down south.

Take Sammy for instance. He’s a sweet little guy with attitude – but he has one special talent. He’s a baby Houdini. No matter how tightly his parents buckle him into his car seat, he finds a way to escape.

He can’t manage the child-proof buckle yet because he doesn’t have the motor skills, although I’m sure he knows how to open it if his hands were just coordinated enough. No, Sammy rutches and squirms until he wiggles his way out.

On a trip to the local WalMart last week with his mom, Sam managed to get out of his seat and open the back of the family van WHILE IT WAS MOVING. Aaaaaahhhhhh! That’s a Grandma’s heart attack waiting to happen. It still makes my heart flutter just to think about it and I wasn’t even there.

Fortunately the Lord must remember what it’s like to be a mischievous 2 year old and He protected Sam. My daughter was able to get the car stopped quickly without dumping Sam out the back end. Thankfully, he understood how upset his mom was and stayed put in his seat the rest of the way home.

My daughter is a good mom, very careful to childproof her house and to watch her children closely. Sammy just seems to be able to think faster than she can. Car seats, locked doors, windows – he’s got them all figured out. Look out MENSA, here comes Sam.

Another day last week Allissa had put the two younger children to bed. A little while later, Abby started screaming. Mom thought her three year old was just upset because Sam had climbed out of bed and wouldn’t let her alone. Thankfully she went to check on them.

Sam had managed to climb onto the other bed which was right under the window in that room. He figured out how to open the window and had jumped out. It was dark, but a light shone on that side of the house. Abby was screaming in panic for Sam to come back.

With an alligator infested canal behind their house, the dark night is no place for a two year old alone. Everybody panicked. Dad ran out the front door and was looking for Sam within a minute after he “escaped.”

Josh flagged down a neighbor’s car as it came down the road, warning him to watch for Sam and to go slowly to avoid accidentally hitting him. Thankfully, when Sam saw the headlights, he ran around the side of the house right to his dad.

Heart attack number two – and that’s just in one week! I’m so glad God gives us children when we’re young, because at my age, I’m not sure I could survive Sam.