How to Field Strip a Car Seat

This is my final word on the whole shattered window business, I swear. The glass repairman arrived yesterday, promptly 2 minutes after calling and telling us he would arrive in 15 minutes. Approximately, 20 minutes after that he called to say UNCLE on the matter of removing Violet's car seat from the vehicle. It turns out that we are the only people in need of rear window repair, who also properly install a child safety seat and he was confused. How long has the LATCH system been the standard? 10, 15 years? I have a new respect for local firemen who scream themselves' hoarse on this issue.

Anyway, Aaron bloodied his knuckles getting the seat out. I guess I was a little naive about the persistance of safety glass. It looks so harmless. It's so pretty and blue. It has those cute little dots on it. Safety glass is, in fact, the devil. It is like lice or sugar ants. Just when you think you have the problem licked, a few more show up. I kept shaking the car seat and the glass just kept coming. I vaccumed and the glass kept coming. I was forced to strip it down to the skeleton, which wasn't easy because we were smart little parents 4 years ago when this car seat was purchased. It is a convertible model that accommodates a child from 5-100lbs. It has fancy levers and whatnot, so that it can be adjusted in place. The cover is snug and comfy and nearly impossible to remove. The complexity of the cover allowed for many glass hiding places. It was also concealing a few finely aged and obliterated raisins.

Sigh.

Dismantling the seat that has kept my child safe since her first day made me realize that it was time to say goodbye to the five-point harness and adjust the seat into it's final configuration, the belt positioning booster. The faded paper instructions stuck to the side of the seat insisted that it was time. The illustrated child was clearly very happy to be in a big kid seat. So was Violet.