Egress
Our bathroom door now has a new door handle. The old one just wasn’t fitting it – it just wasn’t working with how we pictured our family. Specifically, all four of us able to walk into, and out of, each room in the house. More specifically, to meet our needs, the door handle needed to not lock Nicholas in the bathroom, while Katie, Dexter and I are on the other side. The door handle failed in this regard on Thursday evening.
Initially I think Nic just wanted to head into the bathroom, grab a magazine, and have a few minutes to himself. Then the minutes dragged on, and he didn’t seem to show any inclination to come out. So I knocked, and after he giggled, tried to open the door. He’d locked it. Okay, this is a first, but it was inevitable. It’s a lever-type door handle, so all he has to do to unlock it is try and turn the handle. ”Nicky, can you come and open the door?” He refuses for another minute or so, but then comes over and tries. No joy. I’ve sent Katie away by this point, since she’s kind of freaking me out by getting really anxious and worried. Nic was fine, but the door wouldn’t unlock.
Hmm. Okay, time to get a screwdriver and use the external release. Which doesn’t work. I spent about 5 minutes prying at it, and no joy. Nic is still happily doing whatever it is toddlers due in the bathroom (which is everything except actually using the toilet). Finally I go and get a pry bar, pull off the trim, force open the door, and tell Nic to stop laughing at me. Half an hour later I’m back from the hardware store with a new door handle, guaranteed not to separate mother from son for longer than either of them mutually agrees to.
So now the question is, if I weren’t home, how would Katie have gotten Nic out of the bathroom? At the rate she was going, I think she might have just cut a hole through the laundry room door. I can’t fault her that – she’s a practical woman, and a second egress route is always important.
Okay, back to the men’s work – it’s laundry day.
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May 7th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Okay, Katie insists I point out that after ushering Nicholas from the bathroom, I very wisely decide to test the locking mechanism again. Turns out it was broken. That time with me inside. Fortunately Katie was able to unlock the door with a screwdriver from the outside (having removed the trim sort of made that a bit easier).