Do things like this happen to other people?

As I mentioned a few days ago, we're sharing swim duty and driving with our favorite family of eleven. On the first day of lessons, after arriving at our friends' house, I went inside to drop off Em and the babies. The nine swim-bound children were busy getting situated in the van. We were on-time and going well!

When the other mom, Kim, and I got back out to the van, I heard someone proclaim that Meghan (9) was stuck in her seat belt. Apparently, someone had the knowledge that a quarter had been put into the buckle on a previous day and now the buckle could not be undone. Add to the entrapment was the fact that Meg had pulled her belt all the way out so that it entered "car seat mode" and was now tightly pinning her to the seat.

While Kim climbed over the seats to get to Meg (sitting second row from the back, furthest seat from the door), I climbed in the back to asses the situation. We pulled, we tugged, it didn't budge. Meg was now trying valiantly not to panic.

"We're going to have to cut it," I decided. After digging my scissors out of my craft bag, I handed them to Kim. She was understandably reluctant to chop through the seat belt.

Before she began cutting she did say, "You know, our husbands won't understand why we did this. They will quickly come up with many alternative solutions." The belt was cut, and Meg was freed.

As we got into our seats in the front, we laughed and wondered if things like this happen to other people.

And yes, Bryan immediately pointed out that we cut the belt in the wrong spot which will now cost us hundred of dollars to fix. Oh well...