“NAKED MOTHER SAVES
CHILDREN IN DRIVEWAY”
Had anyone been brave enough to claim they had seen me, this would have been the headline for the dreadful day in May when as a mother of 3 young children—ages 2, 4, and 6—I went outside in a towel and shower cap to rescue my two year old from a “hole.”
Had anyone been brave enough to claim they had seen me, this would have been the headline for the dreadful day in May when as a mother of 3 young children—ages 2, 4, and 6—I went outside in a towel and shower cap to rescue my two year old from a “hole.”
After a busy morning
of mothering duties I finally got all three children outside playing in the
fenced backyard and decided I could quickly hop in the shower. I gave them specific instructions to stay
together and stay in the backyard. Knowing
I only had a few minutes and those minutes did not allow for a hair wash, I
quickly threw my pink flowered shower cap on my head. Just as I began to lather myself with soap
and almost enjoy the hot water descending upon me, my six year old Jonathan, ran
into the bathroom shouting, “Mom, Mom! Nate (my two-year-old) is stuck in a
hole and can’t get out! Come quick!”
My mind filled with tragic
visions of 18 month old Jessica Morales from Texas that had fallen in a well in
1989 and was trapped there for 58 hours.
I knew we did not have those kind of wells in Farmington, Utah, but all
logic left my mind; clearly indicated by my flinging the shower curtain open,
grabbing a towel hanging from a nearby hook, wrapping it quickly around me and
dashing down the stairs to the backyard with my son following close behind
me.
As I ran to the back
door he shouted, “no mom, not the back, the front.” Once again no thinking took place only the desperate
desire to save my child. I ran out the
garage door that led to the driveway. At
the end of the driveway was our blue Little Tykes van and in that van were two
screaming children. I dashed to the van
and found Nate curled up in a ball pinned to the ground stuck in the “hole” where
the feet are supposed to go. My 4 year
old daughter Addie was also curled up in a ball stuck in the back part of the
van. Neither could move and therefore
Jonathan was unable to move the van from on top of Nate.
Crouching down with
one hand holding my towel securely around me, I used my other hand to try and
grab onto Nate, he being the one screaming the loudest. I could not move him in the position needed
with one hand so I asked Jonathan to hold my towel. He grabbed onto it and must have felt the
grip he had wasn’t strong enough so he opened the towel up as wide as his arms
would go and brought the towel back together to secure it tightly. No matter what I tried I could not get Nate
out. If I rolled the van any way he only
screamed louder. In my panic I never
once thought, “get Addie out first and lift the van off.” Too bad hindsight can’t come sooner in a
situation such as this.
Suddenly Jonathan
lost all interest in the crisis before us.
He let go of my towel and said, “this is taking too long.” There I was very naked, except for the lovely
shower cap, crouched in my driveway with 3 children and a green towel lying in a
pile in front of me. I grabbed the towel
and with one hand held it up near my neck.
At least with the help of gravity it hung over the worst area in
crouched position! I used my other hand to
continue my rescue.
At last they were both free and only then did the
reality of where I was and what I had just done hit me. I became painfully aware of my nakedness, my
shower cap and my cold, wet skin. I wave of panic washed over me and I looked
in every direction to see if there were cars stopped, news reporters, neighbors
scarred for life, etc. Luckily, and
thankfully, I saw no one. I began to
back up the driveway slowly keeping my eyes peeled for any movement. Suddenly a bash to the head reminded me that
there was a van parked in that driveway and I had just hit the rear view
window. Tears started to flow.
Jonathan’s interest
had returned to my predicament and came to see what had happened. He saw me and said in a completely disgusted
voice, “MOM you should never go outside in just a towel and especially you
should never go outside NAKED!”
Now in full sobs I shouted,
“And YOU should learn what a HOLE is!”
Several minutes
later, still upset but dying to know, I called my two next door neighbors and
asked them if they had seen anything going on in my driveway a while ago. Thankfully neither had had the pleasure OR
disgust of the episode! Later that day I
received a phone call from a man saying he was from the Farmington City Police
Department and they had had a report of “indecent exposure” from someone at my
address. Again the tears came-my next
stop was surely jail.
The man exploded into laughter and told me
that he was really my neighbor’s husband.
She had called him right away with the story and he could not resist the
opportunity to scare me to death.
Days and weeks after
whenever I would tell someone the story they would always ask, in disgust I might
add, “why didn’t you just throw on a robe before you ran out there,” or, “Why
didn’t you just look out the window first to see what the problem was,” or “Why
didn’t you have Jonathan help you lift the kids out?” etc.
Were these people
mothers? Had they ever felt the
adrenaline that washes over you when you think your child is in trouble?- AND I
didn’t own a robe!
I think that is what makes mothers
“mothers”-willing to give anything and do anything to protect, save and help their
children. Only Mothers are willing
to “walk through a burning building” or crouch naked in a driveway.
Look forward to my next posts filled with ideas for Christmas and special ways to help your children BELIEVE!
If you need an IDEA for SOMETHING/ANYTHING that is coming up with your family, just ask!
Look forward to my next posts filled with ideas for Christmas and special ways to help your children BELIEVE!
If you need an IDEA for SOMETHING/ANYTHING that is coming up with your family, just ask!
