The older you get the more problems you seem to have. Bits of your body that used to work like a well-oiled machine start playing up on you at the most unexpected moments.
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Lying in bed in the very early hours of the morning, I can feel my husband’s feet on one side of me and my youngest child’s feet on the other side.
I am squished in the middle with both breathing all over me.
Inside my head is a long high-pitched ringing sound.
It’s beyond annoying.
There is no pain associated with this sound, so I just figure there is something happening in my ear, or maybe my brain, that’s making this noise.
Just another weird thing happening to my body.
I doze in and out of sleep, primarily because the extra pair of feet in my bed keep wriggling, but also the ringing sound just won’t go away.
I’m not sure if I felt panic or relief when my husband stirred in his sleep and asked me what that high-pitched sound was.
I immediately thought thank goodness my brain or my ears are not the latest body part letting me know how old I am. But then realise if it’s not me, then something is going off in the house.
My husband takes off in the dark searching for the sound. He makes his way to the kitchen, then to the fridge and then to the power point which is sparking away like a fire cracker.
Grabbing a plastic spatula, he uses it to turn off the power point and pull out the cord.
The alarm stops. And by now he is wide awake.
Lying back in bed we both begin to ponder if we have just had a very lucky escape.
What if the spark had turned into a flame?
What if I had spent the entire early hours of the morning dozing in and out of sleep thinking my hearing was going, unaware of the potential fire hazard in our kitchen.
What if Andrew had not woken up?
An early morning call to the electrician amounted to an unexpected bill and huge wave of relief that we were safe, and the issue resolved.
As the sun came up we began the usual morning routine of making lunches for school, hanging out the washing and trying to find the homework book.
But in the back of our minds was the realisation our morning could have been very different.
Winter may be over but the threat of fire through electrical appliances is a year-round issue.
The fireplace may no longer be in use, but having a working smoke alarm, a fire extinguisher and blanket in your home is always a necessity.
