Where'd My Ladder Go?

You know this widder business isn't easy and brings with it a whole host of things you'd never expect--of course no one expects to be a widder either....but it's the everyday things you don't expect. Like last night--the darn smoke alarm starts beeping about midnight. I think to myself "Larry needs to go fix that." Well of course, Larry's not here (that's hard to remember, believe it or not!) Anyway, I'm a little short thing about 5'4" and Larry was 6'1". For nearly 25 years, I had my own personal "reacher upper"....so now what? The darn thing continues to beep at me!!

So, I think to myself (after the wave of panic subsides a little), wonder where the step stool is. Yep, you're right, Larry tended to the step stool's location, too!! After all, I had him, I didn't need a step stool! So I finally find it and up I go. Well the darn smoke alarm couldn't be one of those cheapie things you buy at Walgreen's or somewhere. Oh no, it has to be wired, I mean WIRED in as in "by an electrician". So, I stop to wonder if I'm about to get electrocuted (remember, Larry did the smoke detector battery replacing too!). I decide that if you don't have to flip the breaker to change a light bulb, you probably don't have to flip it to replace a smoke detector either (aren't we lucky I was right....else you wouldn't be reading this!). So I get the thing disconnected, and then realize I don't have my glasses...at least I was smart enough not to holler at Larry to bring them to me!

So, of course I can't see diddly, so down I go and off in search of my glasses. Then back to where there's light to try to figure out how to open the little battery door! Fortunately that was pretty easy. Then I realize I don't have a battery in my hand, but fortunately, at least I know where he kept those! Now, battery installed, back up the step stool I go. Took me 15 minutes to get the darn thing reconnected and another 10 minutes to get it screwed back into it's "holder". It has now taken me nearly 45 minutes to change the battery in 1, that's right, ONE smoke detector and we have 7. At this rate I'll be able to turn this into a full day's work!

Actually feeling quite proud of myself, down the ladder I go. Just as I was putting the step stool up where I thought it should go (there are some advantages to being the only one living at your house.), I hear this high pitched beep--yep, you got it, I replaced the battery in the WRONG smoke detector! I nearly cried!

All this trouble for something Larry could have done in 5 minutes....and the problem still isn't solved. So what did I do? I "told" him how mad I was at him for not being there, because I didn't even have enough sense to replace the right smoke detector...how was I supposed to cope with life without him????

And then I went in the bathroom, got some cotton, put it in my ears, and went to bed!