It was a dark and stormy night...
First there was a crash. Or a loud boom. Who knows... it was about three hours ago, and I am still so rattled that I can't get the adjectives lined up politely in my sentences. I didn't know where it came from. I was washing my apple and not minding being alone in this huge (and growing huger in my mind as the night goes on), empty house.
Suddenly I felt as though I were not alone. Warily, I walked around. I turned the light on in the sun room, but saw nothing. Hm. I should have, though. I am sure of it.
I locked the basement door. I checked the garage, and the drive way, and the front door.
Back up in my room, I heard another noise. I was so spooked, I locked my bedroom door. I briefly considered calling Tom, my excellent next-door-neighbor and knight in rumpled armor, but then I felt foolish. It was late. He works odd shifts. He's not my mother. I'm a big girl.
His wife, I am sure, will berate me for not having called, while at the same time being glad I didn't.
It's windy out, and now and then, another sound. I see the shadows of the paper birch tree in front of the house as they dance eerily on my window shade. Chatting online with my brother, I wonder if there is thunder? He says it could be, but he is too far away to know. My personal meteorologist is not online, so I check the radar on my laptop. No, only light rain.
I finally settle down to go to sleep, around midnight. And then another bang. Now I am scared.
Yeah, as if I wasn't before.
I got up and turned on the light for the backyard, which is in my room. (Why? I have no idea!)
What I saw at first relieved me... I was not being stalked by some crazed killer.
Then the reality smacked me in my migraine. The two awnings over the deck were OPEN. When I left for work this morning, amidst a heavy rain, they were closed. They have been closed for at least two months now.
The one on the right was tilted, with one corner lying on the deck.
In rapid succession, the following thoughts:
Dear God, it's broken.
It will cost a fortune to fix.
We can't show the house like this!
We can never sell this house, it keeps breaking.
Who is going to fix it?
What should I be doing NOW? It is still making noise so it is still a danger to the house. I have no idea what damage has been done to the roofline, the gutters, the siding, the deck....
I debated calling my husband, but lucky for him, I caught myself. What on earth could he do from four states away? Besides worry and agonize. One of us doing that was already enough.
But I needed to talk to someone. So I called the next most important person on my list... the insurance claims agent. At least it felt like I was doing something.
Oh... did I mention this was shot night? I'm gonna sleep real well tonight!
Suddenly I felt as though I were not alone. Warily, I walked around. I turned the light on in the sun room, but saw nothing. Hm. I should have, though. I am sure of it.
I locked the basement door. I checked the garage, and the drive way, and the front door.
Back up in my room, I heard another noise. I was so spooked, I locked my bedroom door. I briefly considered calling Tom, my excellent next-door-neighbor and knight in rumpled armor, but then I felt foolish. It was late. He works odd shifts. He's not my mother. I'm a big girl.
His wife, I am sure, will berate me for not having called, while at the same time being glad I didn't.
It's windy out, and now and then, another sound. I see the shadows of the paper birch tree in front of the house as they dance eerily on my window shade. Chatting online with my brother, I wonder if there is thunder? He says it could be, but he is too far away to know. My personal meteorologist is not online, so I check the radar on my laptop. No, only light rain.
I finally settle down to go to sleep, around midnight. And then another bang. Now I am scared.
Yeah, as if I wasn't before.
I got up and turned on the light for the backyard, which is in my room. (Why? I have no idea!)
What I saw at first relieved me... I was not being stalked by some crazed killer.
Then the reality smacked me in my migraine. The two awnings over the deck were OPEN. When I left for work this morning, amidst a heavy rain, they were closed. They have been closed for at least two months now.
The one on the right was tilted, with one corner lying on the deck.
In rapid succession, the following thoughts:
Dear God, it's broken.
It will cost a fortune to fix.
We can't show the house like this!
We can never sell this house, it keeps breaking.
Who is going to fix it?
What should I be doing NOW? It is still making noise so it is still a danger to the house. I have no idea what damage has been done to the roofline, the gutters, the siding, the deck....
I debated calling my husband, but lucky for him, I caught myself. What on earth could he do from four states away? Besides worry and agonize. One of us doing that was already enough.
But I needed to talk to someone. So I called the next most important person on my list... the insurance claims agent. At least it felt like I was doing something.
Oh... did I mention this was shot night? I'm gonna sleep real well tonight!