Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Something's Gotta Give...

So last night I had the fright of my life. Chris calls me from upstairs to ask me if I'm burning food again...haha. (I don't really burn food - I think it happened once). Anyway, I said no, but then I stood up and all I could smell was smoke - like INTENSE smoke...like a house on fire kinda smoke...so I walk up the stairs to the kitchen and its overwhelming - like completely and utterly overwhelming and...I go into complete panic mode. I scream "OMG Chris - something's on fire!" He comes running down - he's checking the stove, the oven, he's running to the back of the house, down to the basement, back up - can't find anything but its getting stronger and stronger and so I think OMG its next door (we live in a semi-detached) so I open the back door and look to C & E's back window, but all I can see is orange lighting - and the blinds drawn but the orange is making me nervous...so I call them on the phone, but they aren't answering and the smell is getting more and more intense and as I walk back into the house from outside I realize it really is smoky. I run through the house and out the front to see if I can see what's happening over at C&E's through the front, and I ring the doorbell...nothing. I run back into our house, and think this is it...our lives are about to be ruined. There's FIRE IN THE WALLS somewhere and we can't find it and its about to bust through, and we're all going to lose everything. Our house, or belongings, our future...ruined. Then C&E are coming through the front door wondering what all the panic is - their house is fine - nothing going on - but they can smell it too - intense smoke...coming from somewhere...I am on the verge of a breakdown as the smell gets stronger and stronger I think to myself why is this happening? Why now? We'll be in the paper tomorrow...house fire - everything gone - lives ruined.

So continuing to try to find the source, and everyone's running around, Chris stabs the microwave oven button to open the door, and smoke billows out. It was the microwave...and it was my fault. He slams the door and swings around ready to tear a strip off me, but I think at that moment he realized just how totally shattered I was so he put his arm around me and said, "its ok babe...calm down...everything's fine." Poor E tried to have a conversation about the movie we had leant them, "American Gangster" but I felt like I had survived a plane crash. I wasn't ready for a "chit chat".

I had been heating a bean bag...the ones you throw around your neck for warmth or to ease muscle strain, and I must have mistakenly set the timer to 40:00 instead of 4:00...and walked away. The bag was on fire...and maybe had been for a while...not sure... I guess I relied on the "beep" of the microwave to tell me when it would be ready...and just forgot all about it. All of last night I felt sick to my stomach. I am so relieved that everything turned out ok, but at the same time, I am angry that things got this out of control. My brain is in detail overload mode...and is starting to shut down. I guess the universe decided it was about time for a wakeup call.

By the way...the clinic just called - MY PAP IS NORMAL!!!!!!! Thank god I can finally move on from that stressor. They will soon be delivered a gorgeous bouquet of fresh flowers...with a very special thank you.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Boy oh boy, you had me going that time, my heart was pounding by the time you figured out it was a bean bag in the microwave! But I can understand why you would panic, who would think of that, it's out of sight out of mind. Or was it because you are so stressed out your brain is in overload. Please please try to take things one day at a time and stay cool (even when the house is on fire - lol). All's well that ends well.