Smoke Alarm!
It would NOT shut off!!!!
I tried everything that day to no avail.
At first, I couldn't even get it off the wall.
I didn't know it was going to be this hard.
It began like any other low battery signal - with a very slight ...beep.
Then it gradually grew in intensity.
The BEEP turned into a double BEEP BEEP.
The noise was driving me batty.
BEEP BEEP
I finally got it off the wall somehow.
But then I couldn't get the back off to be able to remove the battery.
I tried tapping it on the counter.
BEEP BEEP
I tried using a jar gripper.
I even tried a screwdriver.
Hmm... BEEP BEEP
ALL RIGHT, where's the hammer?
Just a little tap.
OH, COME ON!
...BEEP BEEP
So, I don't want to break it, BUT I DO WANT TO STOP... BEEP BEEP... THE NOISE!
Sigh.
I am the only one home
...BEEP BEEP
Well, I guess it's just going to have to wait until someone comes home to help me remove the battery.
What to do? I can't think straight anymore.
...BEEP BEEP
Ah, I have an idea!
Let me just put it under a blanket to muffle the noise.
...BEEP BEEP
UGH! Not good enough.
How about a couple blankets?
That ought'ta do it!
...BEEP BEEP
Man, that's really loud!!!!
How about 4 blankets?
...BEEP BEEP
It's getting about lunch time and I'm hungry.
I'll just put some music on while I eat.
It will be... BEEP BEEP!
Fine.
Me: eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Radio: "Country roads, Take me home, To the place where I be-
...BEEP BEEP
-loooong!"
By now even the dog is jittery.
I jump up from the table, wash my hands,
and scramble over to the pile of very noisy blankets,
stuffing it under the couch cushions,
and covering that with all the extra insulation for the rest of the day.
THERE!
That should be better now.
...MMEEP mmbeep!
That's how I spent the rest of my day trying to drown out the plastic Road Runner stuck in my couch.
It was difficult. I had a headache. I just wanted it to be over.
Then my husband came home.
...MMEEP MMBEEP!
"What's that noise?"
Hello, to you, too?
...MMEEP MMBEEP! (I'm convinced this thing has a volume control only it can use.)
We tried. We really tried.
Well, not too hard really, because by then we both wanted to send it off to outer space.
We could NOT shut this thing off!
...MMEEP MMBEEP!
So, finally our son came home and his electronic skills far surpass ours.
...MMEEP MMBEEP!
........
...BEEP BEEP!!!!!!!!
........
...BEEP Bb...
ahhhhhhh! Sweet silence.
The torture is over.
The battery has been changed, the menace reassembled, and put back on the wall.
Now tomorrow I can return to life as usual.
NOT SO EASY with a load of grief.
If you have ever lost a loved one, or several, like me - you know what I am talking about.
If you haven't suffered a deep loss yet - consider yourself waiting.
When someone close to you dies, it leaves a great big hole.
A very LOUD, DEEP, DARK hole.
It is very difficult. You will have more than just a headache. It will not stop.
You can not escape the loss, it follows you daily.
You wake each morning to the same empty chair.
That is, if you slept last night.
The silence of the stairs is so VERY loud.
The empty refrigerator screams at you.
The unused boots in the corner stomp in your daydreams.
The car in the garage is roaring it's engine from disuse.
It doesn't change even if you pack away all the reminders of yesteryear.
Your grief is a part of you, simply because you once held someone you love, and now there is no more tomorrows.
Like the noisy smoke alarm under blankets and stuffed in a muffled couch, it is still there.
You can't see it any more.
The neighbors certainly can't hear it.
The dog will even settle in learning how to walk around the strange new thing.
But, it is still beeping, all day long.
All of the love you once held has turned into grief.
The battery that once had the job of alerting you to a fire
is now a source of anger and frustration.
It is not the intended job of a smoke alarm.
But eventually that can be fixed, quieted, changed.
Grief/love has become a part of you, a little muffled,
stuffed under a figurative couch where no one can see it.
But because it is something you carry everywhere you go,
sometimes the volume has a mind of its own.
It will get louder at times, unbearable even.
There is no tomorrow with life as usual.
But when we are able to process the events surrounding our losses, and learn to embrace the beautiful moments we DID get to share, we can settle in learning how to walk around this strange new thing. That is when we can start looking for ways to go forward and live each day for our loved ones. The life we are granted is a gift, and like any gift, it would be a shame to mistreat. Our lives can be well spent and shared with those who are surrounding us daily. There is always a way, There is always hope. Every brand new day is another chance to learn how to live with a muffled part of us in the background.
Always learning something new @Brick by Brick
written by: Sue Leerhoff
I tried everything that day to no avail.
At first, I couldn't even get it off the wall.
I didn't know it was going to be this hard.
It began like any other low battery signal - with a very slight ...beep.
Then it gradually grew in intensity.
The BEEP turned into a double BEEP BEEP.
The noise was driving me batty.
BEEP BEEP
I finally got it off the wall somehow.
But then I couldn't get the back off to be able to remove the battery.
I tried tapping it on the counter.
BEEP BEEP
I tried using a jar gripper.
I even tried a screwdriver.
Hmm... BEEP BEEP
ALL RIGHT, where's the hammer?
Just a little tap.
OH, COME ON!
...BEEP BEEP
So, I don't want to break it, BUT I DO WANT TO STOP... BEEP BEEP... THE NOISE!
Sigh.
I am the only one home
...BEEP BEEP
Well, I guess it's just going to have to wait until someone comes home to help me remove the battery.
What to do? I can't think straight anymore.
...BEEP BEEP
Ah, I have an idea!
Let me just put it under a blanket to muffle the noise.
...BEEP BEEP
UGH! Not good enough.
How about a couple blankets?
That ought'ta do it!
...BEEP BEEP
Man, that's really loud!!!!
How about 4 blankets?
...BEEP BEEP
It's getting about lunch time and I'm hungry.
I'll just put some music on while I eat.
It will be... BEEP BEEP!
Fine.
Me: eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Radio: "Country roads, Take me home, To the place where I be-
...BEEP BEEP
-loooong!"
By now even the dog is jittery.
I jump up from the table, wash my hands,
and scramble over to the pile of very noisy blankets,
stuffing it under the couch cushions,
and covering that with all the extra insulation for the rest of the day.
THERE!
That should be better now.
...MMEEP mmbeep!
That's how I spent the rest of my day trying to drown out the plastic Road Runner stuck in my couch.
It was difficult. I had a headache. I just wanted it to be over.
Then my husband came home.
...MMEEP MMBEEP!
"What's that noise?"
Hello, to you, too?
...MMEEP MMBEEP! (I'm convinced this thing has a volume control only it can use.)
We tried. We really tried.
Well, not too hard really, because by then we both wanted to send it off to outer space.
We could NOT shut this thing off!
...MMEEP MMBEEP!
So, finally our son came home and his electronic skills far surpass ours.
...MMEEP MMBEEP!
........
...BEEP BEEP!!!!!!!!
........
...BEEP Bb...
ahhhhhhh! Sweet silence.
The torture is over.
The battery has been changed, the menace reassembled, and put back on the wall.
Now tomorrow I can return to life as usual.
NOT SO EASY with a load of grief.
If you have ever lost a loved one, or several, like me - you know what I am talking about.
If you haven't suffered a deep loss yet - consider yourself waiting.
When someone close to you dies, it leaves a great big hole.
A very LOUD, DEEP, DARK hole.
It is very difficult. You will have more than just a headache. It will not stop.
You can not escape the loss, it follows you daily.
You wake each morning to the same empty chair.
That is, if you slept last night.
The silence of the stairs is so VERY loud.
The empty refrigerator screams at you.
The unused boots in the corner stomp in your daydreams.
The car in the garage is roaring it's engine from disuse.
It doesn't change even if you pack away all the reminders of yesteryear.
Your grief is a part of you, simply because you once held someone you love, and now there is no more tomorrows.
Like the noisy smoke alarm under blankets and stuffed in a muffled couch, it is still there.
You can't see it any more.
The neighbors certainly can't hear it.
The dog will even settle in learning how to walk around the strange new thing.
But, it is still beeping, all day long.
All of the love you once held has turned into grief.
The battery that once had the job of alerting you to a fire
is now a source of anger and frustration.
It is not the intended job of a smoke alarm.
But eventually that can be fixed, quieted, changed.
Grief/love has become a part of you, a little muffled,
stuffed under a figurative couch where no one can see it.
But because it is something you carry everywhere you go,
sometimes the volume has a mind of its own.
It will get louder at times, unbearable even.
There is no tomorrow with life as usual.
But when we are able to process the events surrounding our losses, and learn to embrace the beautiful moments we DID get to share, we can settle in learning how to walk around this strange new thing. That is when we can start looking for ways to go forward and live each day for our loved ones. The life we are granted is a gift, and like any gift, it would be a shame to mistreat. Our lives can be well spent and shared with those who are surrounding us daily. There is always a way, There is always hope. Every brand new day is another chance to learn how to live with a muffled part of us in the background.
Always learning something new @Brick by Brick
written by: Sue Leerhoff
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