i took a quick run over to Wal Mart today to pick up some groceries after picking Josh up at school. he’s a great grocery shopper and loves pushing the cart around for me.

as we got back to the car he said his fingers were freezing, so i unlocked the car and he got in while i stowed the bags in the trunk and took the cart to the cart return which was right behind my car.

how much trouble can a 4 year old get into in that amount of time? you’d be amazed…

as i got back into the car, Josh said “Mommy, i’m sorry – i burned my finger on this button.” i thought he was pointing to a toy on the seat, so i figured he was just making it up and ignored it. on the way home, he started crying. that was when i thought there might be something to his story.

we pulled into the driveway at home, and i turned around and asked him to show me what button he burned his finger on. he pointed, and i pulled his mitten aside to see that he was pointing at the cigarette lighter from my car, sitting on the seat. he’d obviously gotten ahold of it while i was putting away groceries and returning the cart. and now his right index finger was red and had a big blister forming.

i performed all of the burn first aid that i know (cold water first, then holding it on a bag of ice for awhile, followed by antibiotic/painkiller cream and a dose of liquid ibuprofen)… and he’s still complaining that it hurts. i explained that it would probably hurt for awhile.

so… what can happen in 40 seconds? a lot! we don’t smoke, so i don’t know if Josh has ever even seen that lighter in action to know that it was dangerous. it’s a lesson learned for me, and i think the lighter will be residing in the glove compartment from now on.