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It happens every year, despite news coverage of when it happened last year: babies die in hot cars.

The reasons are as tragic as the losses themselves: parents who forgot it was their turn to drop the child off at daycare, who thought the workplace parking lot would be safe enough (in lieu of childcare), who didn't want to disturb the child's sleep.

That last, I can sympathize with the most. A baby who goes from a sleepy newborn to a wakeful, engaged infant can be a harsh reality--especially when the wakefulness is complicated by reflux, or plain old high needs. Even an easy baby can have awful timing, fussing with fatigue just when you need to do chores or complete an important project.

So when Boris fell asleep on the way back from Hamlet's preschool this morning, I parked the car. And left him be. But I sat in the car with him, working on my PDA.

It's true that cars get hot in no time on hot days. Even if you were just running the air conditioner before you turned the ignition off. And even if it's just a breezy 75 degrees outside. I found that out when I closed the windows against a hornet that was trying to visit us. Still, even after I was able to open the window again, I wondered if I should just wake Boris and bring him in. The sun had started to peek over the treetops, baking our car, and I was starting to sweat.

Which was when Boris woke up. Not sweating, not too hot, and fresh from his nap.

So I'm glad I let him sleep, and I'm also glad I stayed out there with him. I now know that as summer marches on, even the promise of sleep will become more dangerous--and that a few hours of fussy baby is nothing compared to a lifetime of torment over what should and could have been done.