Mom forgets son in car, gets real about life’s distractions

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A Tampa Bay area mom is getting real about distractions in life. 

We’ve seen the stories over and over again, where a parent forgets that their child is in the backseat of their car. That happened to mom, Lindsey Trepany. 

Fortunately, her son is okay and was never left alone in the car, but she wants everyone to know how it happened, so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

It was a stressful time for Trepany. 

“I’m planning a wedding,” she says. 

On top of that, she was told that she has to get a new roof, that she doesn’t need.

“How am I going to come up with this money for this roof that I don’t need?”

The day was so hectic, she made a turkey sandwich for her child, and then misplaced it. It’s a scene many parents can surely relate to. 

“I couldn’t even find a turkey sandwich that I had just made. I was crying, so stressed out,” says Trepany.

She was driving to work, like she does every day, with all of these thoughts going through her head. When she parked and went to get out of the car, she heard her son in the backseat saying, “Mommy?”

“I just froze and said, ‘Oh my gosh. I totally forgot to take you to school.’”

It was at that moment that she realized, no matter how attentive of a parent you are, it can happen. 

“I’ve been complimented before on how good of a mom I am,” she says.

Thankfully her son is old enough to talk, and to let her know he was there. Before this, she admits, she’d see stories of babies dying in hot cars and think how in the world could a parent forget?

“But then it happened to me and I thought ”OMG, these moms. I promise you if this happens to these moms, they won’t want to live,” she says.

From now on, she vows to be more understanding and is also taking the advice and tips she’s received. She says one thing she does now is put her briefcase in her backseat.