Recently, we had our friend John Severns (941-650-5356) instal a Devcon Security System in our house. I've never lived with one of those things, so it's been an effort to remember to set the alarm when I leave - and at night before bedtime. It's real easy to remember to turn it off when I come back home because the box makes a lot of noise when I open the door! However, it's a pain if we set it at night, then have to get up in the middle of the night and every morning has become a challenge!
It's usually me letting the dogs out, so I get to walk out of the bedroom, down the hall, through the Sun Room, through the mostly empty Living Room area, to the Kitchen where the box is located. Sometimes, this journey also involves our 2 girl dogs, Bella the Cocker Spaniel and Madelyn the Rat Terrier. And sometimes both cats, Molly and Trixie, meet us at the bedroom door and follow us up the step to the Dining Room, then around the 1/2 wall to the Kitchen door, so I can "disarm" the thing. It's a large, rambling house, not all furnished mind you, but a long expanse of floor to cover when you all have to pee. I can then disarm the alarm.
By this time I really need to pee and so do the dogs who are excited and turning circles around my feet! We all walk back through the Dining Room, down the step, through the Living Room, through the Sun Room, open the slider and race out through the Pool area. Then manage to open the screen door to the back yard. Being the human girl, I come back inside and use a real bathroom. If I was the guy, I'd pee in the yard. Who'd ever know?
So, this morning about 4:00AM, Bella wakes us up growling and barking at the Bedroom window. You would have thought it was a burglar. I got up to check it out and sure enough, it was a . . . raccoon eating the date nuts under the palm tree. How does she hear these things?
Art wakes up, takes off his CPAP and yells at the dogs to stop barking. Madelyn has now chimed in with her shrill little bark. Not thinking, I unlatch the window and slide it up for Bella to bark at the raccoon and scare it away. Guess what, the security alarm works!
By now, Art is up and out of bed and headed to the kitchen - via that long path mentioned previously - to turn off the alarm. Of course, there isn't enough light in the kitchen at 4:00AM, so he's upset that he can't read the buttons on the box to shut it off. I think it's all a little silly, which kinda pisses him off.
He wants to know where my phone is because the Devcon company will be calling me first before the police. I mention they are to call him 2nd - and his cell phone is closer than mine in the Bedroom. I still haven't pee'd.
I choose to find the Bathroom first, and then go back to the Bedroom for my phone. Yep, they had called at 4:04AM and at 4:06AM. So I redial the number, chat with the nice lady who is perky, professional and obviously wide awake on the other end of the phone line.
False alarm I say and give her our password. All is well. I traipse back through the house to the yard to fetch my dogs from the yard. Then meander back to the Bedroom with 8 little feet racing beside me. That's 32 little toenails clicking on laminate and tile, not counting the dewclaws. I get back into bed for a nice nap till 6:00AM.
I still don't think Art sees the humor in any of this. Hoo-Boy!
