Awakened By The Beep

I didn’t know what to do!  I didn’t hear the sharp, high pitched “beep” until 5:00 this morning.  My ceiling fan on medium may have drowned out the sound of a dead battery in the smoke alarm.  I don’t know if the beep had been going off for a while or if it had just started. Once I was awake, it was driving me crazy!  I didn’t want it to wake up my son who didn’t need to be up yet.  

As quietly as I could I walked to each fire alarm in the hallway, trying to figure out which one was on the blink.  It sounded like it was the one right outside my son’s bedroom.  That is when I also realized that my dog who sleeps in my room had been following me up and down the hallway almost leaning against my leg as I tried so hard to be quiet.  Unfortunately, my hall is mostly hardwood floor so the sound of her claws on the floor was more annoying than the occasional beep. So I quietly walked the dog back to my bedroom motioning her to lay down on the carpet and “stay”.  

As quietly as I could, I tiptoed down the hall past the empty guest room and past my son’s room which is also next to the laundry room and the garage.  My brilliant idea was to tiptoe into the garage, pick up the ladder which was right inside just left of the door.  A piece of cake. My dog decided that “stay” didn’t apply to her since she was again right at my legs tap dancing around on the cold tiled floor of the laundry room.  I whispered to her and using my hands, motioned to her to return to my bedroom.  This time I had to get back to the laundry room where the batteries are stored.  I knew I needed a 9-volt battery so I grabbed a screw driver with it and layed it gently on the top of the ladder which I opened right in front of my son’s bedroom.  My pride in being so quiet and stealth-like was quickly lost when, there again, was my “best friend” eager to please and tapping away on the hardwood floor, also right in front of my son’s bedroom door.   Now it is 5:15 a.m. and I realized that my son hadn’t stirred in all this time.  If I climb on this lightweight aluminum ladder right outside his door, which sounds would be more upsetting, the steady beep of the fire alarm or the tapping of the dog’s feet, again, right next to mine.  This time I took the dog back to my room, closing the door.  There, quiet.   

I left ladder in front of his room with the hall light on, tiptoed to the kitchen, turned on my coffee maker which wasn’t set to go off until 6 a.m., then I returned to my bedroom, turned on the news because now I can’t sleep. All the while I typed this piece, the “beeping” outside the door has actually subsided.  Seriously, no beeping at all right now.