The most Craptastical Monday ever
To start off with, today was the start of summer school for Thomas. That isn't bad in itself, he loves school and actually hates being off in the summer (mostly because when his dad and I are at work he has to be in daycare all day). But we weren't given a bus# or time for pickup.. just a name of the bus driver and a phone number for the bus company..which we didn't call over the weekend because...well, it was the weekend.
So I take the kids to daycare a bit earlier than usual (because thats where Thom is supposed to be picked up and dropped off) figuring no matter what time it came we'd be there beforehand..because sometimes the bus is a little early, sometimes a little late.
When I got to daycare another mom said her daughter was going to summerschool as well...so it made sense to assume that the kids would be riding the same one, right? So when the bus came I put him on it.
It was the wrong bus. Oh, it was going to the school where summerschool was, but Thom is a special ed student.. he was supposed to ride a different bus#. So cue me freaking out... I call the school (the other mom had a cell phone and let me use it -- I don't have a cell phone.. can't keep hold of one and 9 times out of 10 don't need one). Thomas was met off the bus and taken to his proper classroom..but the summer school office tells me that the bus company had our HOME address for pickup and drop off...and I have to call the dept of transportation to get that straightened out. Eventually I do.
So perhaps thats part of the reason I was distracted. And that explains a bit what happened next. I put a pot on the stove to cook and (still being a bit upset in what could have happened with Thomas and the bus), I went to do something else..fully meaning to come back to the pot.
I didn't.. and the pot...a nonstick one.. burned.
Anyone who has birds or has read about keeping pet birds knows the dangers of nonstick pots. The following, taken from a site "Nature's Chest: safety tips" explains it better than I ever could.
"Virtually all "non-stick" cookware and drip-pans which can be purchased under many different manufacturers names contain PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and are extremely deadly to the lives of our birds. Any brand of cookware you are considering which states "non-stick" should immediately send a warning flag to you as it probably contains the very deadly PTFE. Unless the manufacturer can state in writing it does not and explain exactly how it is non-stick, assume it contains deadly PTFE. Some self-cleaning ovens, clothes dryers, hair dryers, space heaters, irons, ironing board covers, waffle irons, deep fryers, heat lamps and other small appliances or their components may be coated with non-stick surfaces. Unless the manufacturer verifies in writing that the product in question does not contain PTFE producing elements, assume it has them. Overheated, non-stick coatings emit odorless fumes containing PTFE which are lethal to birds and can kill within minutes. "
So the pot burned. I took both birds: american budgie "Tickle" and English budgie "Pistol" down into the basement.. opened the windows in the rooms nearest the kitchen and set up a fan to blow the smoke outside. An hour later, when I was due to leave for work.. both birds were in their cages (still in the basement) and fine. I left to do my 1-9pm shift.
I got a call not that long ago. Hubby came home with the kids to find Tickle dead in her cage. The other budgie, Pistol, seems to be fine. He debated on calling me vs waiting until I got home, but decided to wait would be even more unkind.
I feel a huge weight in my chest. For all intensive purposes I killed my bird. Sure, it was an accident..but dead is dead and its all my fault. I knew about nonstick pots and the potential danger, and in my arrogance assumed it was something that would never happen to me. And Tickle paid the price for that arrogance.
So I take the kids to daycare a bit earlier than usual (because thats where Thom is supposed to be picked up and dropped off) figuring no matter what time it came we'd be there beforehand..because sometimes the bus is a little early, sometimes a little late.
When I got to daycare another mom said her daughter was going to summerschool as well...so it made sense to assume that the kids would be riding the same one, right? So when the bus came I put him on it.
It was the wrong bus. Oh, it was going to the school where summerschool was, but Thom is a special ed student.. he was supposed to ride a different bus#. So cue me freaking out... I call the school (the other mom had a cell phone and let me use it -- I don't have a cell phone.. can't keep hold of one and 9 times out of 10 don't need one). Thomas was met off the bus and taken to his proper classroom..but the summer school office tells me that the bus company had our HOME address for pickup and drop off...and I have to call the dept of transportation to get that straightened out. Eventually I do.
So perhaps thats part of the reason I was distracted. And that explains a bit what happened next. I put a pot on the stove to cook and (still being a bit upset in what could have happened with Thomas and the bus), I went to do something else..fully meaning to come back to the pot.
I didn't.. and the pot...a nonstick one.. burned.
Anyone who has birds or has read about keeping pet birds knows the dangers of nonstick pots. The following, taken from a site "Nature's Chest: safety tips" explains it better than I ever could.
"Virtually all "non-stick" cookware and drip-pans which can be purchased under many different manufacturers names contain PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and are extremely deadly to the lives of our birds. Any brand of cookware you are considering which states "non-stick" should immediately send a warning flag to you as it probably contains the very deadly PTFE. Unless the manufacturer can state in writing it does not and explain exactly how it is non-stick, assume it contains deadly PTFE. Some self-cleaning ovens, clothes dryers, hair dryers, space heaters, irons, ironing board covers, waffle irons, deep fryers, heat lamps and other small appliances or their components may be coated with non-stick surfaces. Unless the manufacturer verifies in writing that the product in question does not contain PTFE producing elements, assume it has them. Overheated, non-stick coatings emit odorless fumes containing PTFE which are lethal to birds and can kill within minutes. "
So the pot burned. I took both birds: american budgie "Tickle" and English budgie "Pistol" down into the basement.. opened the windows in the rooms nearest the kitchen and set up a fan to blow the smoke outside. An hour later, when I was due to leave for work.. both birds were in their cages (still in the basement) and fine. I left to do my 1-9pm shift.
I got a call not that long ago. Hubby came home with the kids to find Tickle dead in her cage. The other budgie, Pistol, seems to be fine. He debated on calling me vs waiting until I got home, but decided to wait would be even more unkind.
I feel a huge weight in my chest. For all intensive purposes I killed my bird. Sure, it was an accident..but dead is dead and its all my fault. I knew about nonstick pots and the potential danger, and in my arrogance assumed it was something that would never happen to me. And Tickle paid the price for that arrogance.