The Voice

On Fridays, the daycare bag is practically bursting. Everything comes home to be washed: crib sheet, blanket, play blanket, and activity quilt. Usually they are all stuffed into a super-sized ziploc. But I forgot to pack the ziploc on Friday, so everything was stuffed into a Safeway grocery bag, with the top handles tied into a knot. I simply dropped the entire bag into Greta's laundry basket for Saturday's wash.

Then I heard it: "What if Greta grabs the bag? She could pull the bag into the crib and suffocate or choke. Take the laundry out and throw the bag away." I answered 'The Voice' with perfect logic: "She has never reached through the slats before to grab laundry, and the bag is heavy with blankets. She won't touch it and I'll do laundry on Saturday. You are being a paranoid Mommy."

I know what all of you are thinking: that Friday night something scary happened. But it didn't. She slept like an angel and all was right with the world.

The scary thing happened on Saturday at noon, when I heard Greta wake up from her nap, crying. Not her usual wake up routine. She is usually all smiles, babbling and kicking her feet against the crib slats. But she was really wailing. I ran in to her room, and the fear I discounted Friday had been realized: Greta had pulled the plastic handles of the bag through the slats and gnawed off the plastic piece that is always loose on the bag. You know the little piece I mean, where the bags are fastened to the holder in the store? And she had either choked on it and puked or swallowed it and threw it back up. She was a mess, the crib was a mess, and I was a mess. What a terrible Mommy I am. I will never dismiss The Voice again.

Rob's response? "Of course she grabbed it. You know how much she loves crinkly bags!" If only he had unpacked the daycare bag on Friday night.

Anyway, she is fine, fully recovered and napping as I type. Not sure why I felt compelled to confess, but I feel better having done so. Thanks for listening.