On November 4, 2011, I wrote a post that contained a list of things I needed to do that weighed heavily on me. Some of those things I’ve actually done (cleaned the room in our basement)… some of them I haven’t (lost 7 pounds).
One thing I hadn’t done was change the batteries in the smoke detectors.
That was six months ago, and I’d say that 70% of nights since then, I’ve laid in bed and worried about the smoke detector batteries being dead, the house catching on fire, and all of us dying. Each morning, though, when I was actually able to do something about it, I wouldn’t think of it. Until I tried to go to sleep again, of course.
Wednesday night I decided enough was enough. I bought some batteries and was determined to finally put my OCD fears to rest. I pulled a chair into the hallway, under the smoke detector that is right outside the bedrooms. The one I had worried about for months on end.
As it turns out, the damn thing is wired in to the electricity of the house.
It was so anti-climatic! But it occurred to me that there was a lesson in it. I had spent so much time and energy obsessing worrying about something that was a complete non-issue.
How many other things do I worry about that have no basis in reality?
Anyway, I discovered that the smoke detector did have a battery as a back up, so I went ahead and changed that. But when I reassembled the thing, it started chirping. You know that sound – the one that means the battery is about to die? So annoying. And I couldn’t get it to stop. Obviously the battery wasn’t dead. I thought maybe I had put the battery in wrong so I took it all apart again and checked. It was situated the right way, but the chirping continued. It was after nine by that point. The kids were ready to go to bed, and I could sense a giant melt down brewing under Kate’s surface. I was about ready to cut the wires just to make it stop when I googled it, and basically found out that I needed to leave it alone for 10 minutes and my problems would be solved.
Fortunately, that worked.
So then I modified the lesson learned – worrying about problems that don’t exist can lead to problems that actually really do exist.
Basically, I need to calm my ass down. We’ll see if that happens.
Three little words, The ra py!
UP
this is the best post ever!! Mostly because it didn’t mock me in any way. Just kidding, I totally needed to read it. I think…it MIGHT mean…that every time one of my kids has a stomach ache it does NOT mean that they have a ruptured appendix…and so much more.
The chirping, when it is running low, makes me change the battery. Drives me nut otherwise. But we need to get better at just doing it at daylight savings every year.
So glad to see that I am not the only one who refers to it as chirping. I hate when it does that so very annoying. For me it always means I need to change the batteries.
I bought a new smoke alarm years ago. Took the old one down and didn’t replace it with the new one. Well I decides to put up the new one recently and it broke. The door to the batteries was stuck. Great now it’s going to take me another 4 years to buy another one. Duh.
Love you post Emily.
I’m not trying to make you feel bad, but I laughed maniacally when I read this. See, I spent the same sleepless nights fretting about our smoke detectors which, like yours, turned out to be wired in the house. And, like you, I changed the battery and, like you, I did it *right* before bedtime. And just like you, I saw my kid about to have a meltdown… but I didn’t think to Google it!
Oh, no. I got on the phone, angry as all get out, and called the security company — which also monitors our smoke detectors — and DEMANDED that someone come out to stop that infernal racket. We live in a fairly small town, so he was ringing our doorbell within 10 minutes. Well, apparently not quite ten minutes, because just as I opened the door the beeping stopped.
I felt like an idiot. Then I read your post and realized I wasn’t the only one. Thanks!