It was only a matter of time - November 2007

-Monday: Tad has the day off, but takes Lea to day care to get things done around the house. He puts her carseat in the Acura.
-Monday evening: Tad and Lea come home. I arrive home an hour or so later.
-Tuesday morning: We rush around the house as usual, attempting to mobilize all the forces to get out the door. In a deviation from our usual routine, Tad leaves first.
-Tuesday morning, about 10 minutes after Tad leaves: Lea and I go to the car and open the back door. I stare in disbelief at an empty backseat and say, "I can't believe it." Lea begins to cry, "My carseat! Where did my carseat go?"
-I manage to convince Lea that nobody has stolen her carseat, it's just that Daddy has driven off with it.
-I call Tad's cell phone.
-Tad's cell phone is off.
-I walk around saying, "I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I can't believe it."
-A little person walks around following me saying, "I can't believe it."
-I call Tad's office line and leave a message.
-I call the main desk, get put on hold for 5 minutes, then attempt to explain to the receptionist that I'm not one of Tad's clients. She takes a message, and I have absolutely no confidence that he'll actually get it.
-I call Tad's cell phone. Still off.
-I flip through Tad's phone book, attempting to find any number that will be useful to me.
-I find the cell phone number of one of his colleagues, call it, then attempt to explain the situation.
-Long silence while the co-worker tries to: (a) decipher my torrent of words, (b) figure out what I want him to do, and (c) determine whether I'm crazy or just flustered.
-Co-worker agrees to look for Tad.
-Several minutes later, Tad calls to let me know that he has the car seat in the back of the Acura. You don't say.
-Tad has to drive all the way back to Durham.
-Lea is reunited with her carseat, which makes her immensely happy. She's spent the last half an hour asking, "Daddy has my car seat?"

I should emphasize the following with regard to this story:
-Tad drives a two door car. The back seat (where Lea's car seat was) is practically on top of the front seat.
-Tad had to open up the hatchback trunk to put his suit coat on top of the little platform that covers the trunk - which is directly behind the car seat.
-Tad discovered that he had the car seat when he got to work and went to get his suit coat - proving that the car seat was indeed noticeable when he put his suit coat in.
-This also proves that Tad is in no way, shape, or form a morning person.

Lea is now very concerned about where her car seat is at all times. After Tad left this morning she said, "Daddy didn't drive off with my car seat?" I think the child is scarred for life.