Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Cassie. I knew it was her by the wonderful ring tone that she had created last week. It goes something like this, "Mom, pick up the phone! Mom, pick up the phone!" I could hear Lacey yelling in the background and I was getting ready to tell them to call me back when they had stopped arguing.
Cassie explain that she had just been over to a neighbor's trying to find someone who was home who might be able to help them decide if they needed to call the fire department. Maybe being 20 miles from home helped keep me from overreacting because I didn't scream WHAAAAAATT?????
As Lacey yelled that "it" was smoking again, I was finally able to interrupt Cassie. She explained that water was dripping from the fish tank into an electrical outlet that's in the floor, causing the outlet to "pop, hiss and smoke."
I immediately knew the source of the problem and figured that I could solve this via long distance. One of our cats had discovered that the open space at the top of the fish tank was just big enough for his paw. I had actually witnessed him stick his paw in, grab a fish, and flip it across the room into a pile of Christmas gifts. Lucky for the fish I was there to grab it and toss it back into the tank. Since that incident, I had tried covering the open space with packing tape. But, the cat could still see the fish and kept climbing on top of the tank. My current solution had been to fool the cat by laying a dish towel over the top of the tank. I told the girls that the towel had probably gotten wet and was dripping onto the floor. I didn't think the tank was leaking.
The girls removed the towel but hollered that the outlet was still smoking and popping. They claimed the popping could be heard all the way in the basement. I asked where the outlet cover was. Of course, they couldn't find the plate. I suggested they place something else over the plate. Cassie replied that she didn't want Lacey to get hurt.
I then began to wonder if I needed to be more proactive. I told the girls to hang up to let me call a non-emergency number for the fire department. I called and tried to explain that I didn't think I had an emergency but that my kids were home alone and I wondered if they could get some kind of non-emergency help. I really didn't want a fleet of rescue vehicles descending on the house. Before I could relay all this information, the friendly guy who answered the phone needed to determine which firehouse was closest to our home. He couldn't decide and told me to just call 911 and have a fire truck dispatched.
So, I hung up and dialed 911. I got a recording that stated I had reached the Arlington Fire Department. Oh, right. This needed to be a local call. I hung up and called the girls. Now, at this point, I had really started to doubt my parenting skills. Were my kids at risk? Was I being negligent? Then, the little light bulb in my head went off.
"Listen," I told Cassie. "Daddy's new office is only a few miles away. Call him and see if he can come home. If he says he can't or you can't reach him or it will take him more than 10 minutes, call 911. Then, let the cats out and stay outside until Daddy gets home. Let me know what's going on."
I figured I had added just the right amount of motherly advice. Then, I sat and waited. They texted that Les had arrived. Then, I didn't hear anything. About 30 minutes later I called Les and got his voicemail. I called home. Lacey answered.
"How's everything?" I asked.
"Fine," she said.
"What did Daddy say?" I prompted. I was really expecting some kind of explanation. You know, I thought Les would have said there was no problem or that they shouldn't worry because he had fixed it.
"He said, 'good job girls,'" Lacey answered.
"Oh, well then," I said, "Yes, good job."
Later, I got the full explanation from Les. Cassie had told him if he wasn't there in 10 minutes she was calling 911. So, he hurried. When he pulled up, he found the cats squished inside a cat carrier, with Lacey seated on top for good measure. Cassie was practicing dance steps on the lawn. Les secured the electrical plate with duct tape and all was well. The girls really did a great job. And, hopefully all will stay well until the next time the girls are home alone.
