All Choked Up!

Monday night is our craziest night of the week. I had good intentions of making dinner, but after a long shop at Costco with Ben, Boston and Sophia (while the others were in activities), Ben suggested we make things easy and eat there. I never eat at Costco and never eat hot dogs, and don't know if I'll be doing either anytime soon!

While normally I would opt for something healthy, I decided that that huge picture of the hot dog looked good to me. Quite weird, because I really don't like hot dogs. Anyway, about halfway through eating, I realized that eating a hot dog and talking is not a good combination. I started to tell something to Ben right after taking a bite and suddenly I could feel the piece of hot dog sliding down my throat, and getting stuck. I tried to cough it up but it wasn't budging. I started to say to Ben, "I'm choking, I'm choking!" The fact that I could tell him that, made him think that I was casually choking on something, and could cough up. Quickly I could feel my throat starting to constrict around the hot dog, and my ability to speak started to diminish. Ben said, "here try drinking this water". I grabbed the water and took a huge gulp. The water I gulped feel like it hit a wall, and came right back up onto the table! It was then I started to really PANIC!!! Things seemed so fuzzy after that point. I remember looking around thinking, "is there not a doctor or nurse here? not one person who knows the Heimlich?" Then I started to think, "is this how it's going to end for me, here in the Costco food court in front of my two children?" Somehow I was able to get out, "Ben, HELP ME!", in a faint yell. It was then he realized how serious it was, and he jumped up and started whacking me on the back. It wasn't working, and then as he started to attempt the Heimlich, the hot dog slid down my throat. By that time a man sitting by a nearby table jumped up to help. Once I realized I was in the clear, I started to break down crying, saying, "that was the scariest thing I ever experienced". The man then brought to my attention that I needed to hug and comfort my frightened children and let them know I was ok. I looked over to find Boston on the brink of tears, and Sophia having a look that said, "what is going on here?". I gave the kids hugs, and had Ben throw away the rest of the hot dog. I stuck around and let the kids finish their dinner, but there were a few people around us who didn't stick around long. I guess watching someone choke, and spit up all over the table can cause you to lose your appetite! Ha! I came out of Costco feeling a little more appreciative for my life, and the kids appreciated their Mom a little more. Boston said, "Mom, I'm so glad you didn't die! That really scared me, I almost was crying!" Glad to know I'd be missed!