The Burning Nillas

It was supposed to be one of those quiet afternoons but kids have a way of redefining the term and on this particular day, completely erase it from one's vocabulary. It had not only been a long day of walking back and forth from the hospital but also my muscles were screaming with the aches and pains of having visited the gym the day before. I had decided I would settle down for a quick nap before our Thursday night venture out to play Bingo. I made sure Mr Hubby Man knew that I was going to be out of commission for the next hour and he would be the only parent on duty. Before I drifted off I vaguely remember my daughter telling me she was hungry and the last few words I managed to utter were "tell your daddy" and then I drifted comfortably and soundly to sleep ~ UNTIL I was suddenly awakened by the sharp, loud blasts of the fire alarms in the house going off.

I lept out of bed in a dazed and half-conscious state while I clumsily made my way out of our bedroom where I was met by my husband who was almost to the top of the stairs urging me to get out. I could smell a sweet but smokey smell drifting throughout the house. Believe me when I say to run down the stairs is no easy task especially when every muscle in your legs feels like you have been through Willy Wonka's Taffy Puller which makes it fairly impossible to do!! Agony does not begin to describe my journey to the bottom of those stairs.

I immediately looked around for the kids who were already several feet away from the building waiting in the front yard while other residents of the Fisher House were making their way out or were already on the porch waiting until the fire trucks arrived. At this moment and for reasons that defy any sort of explanation, my thoughts turned toward my daughter and our last conversation before I fell asleep. Also, for some unearthly idea, I had a feeling she might have had something to do with the mysterious smoke which for now, she was denying having any knowledge of the source or who might have been responsible for its existence.

After the fire marshal and the crew checked the house to make sure everything was okay and the cause of all the chaos had been discovered, we checked inside the microwave to see what all the fuss was about. "Someone" had stuck Vanilla Wafers in the microwave a wee bit too long.



The firefighters gave everyone the "go" to return to the house and my youngest boy was given a special treat to sit in the fire truck





My daughter finally admitted to putting the Nillas in the microwave and explained that she wanted to melt the cookies. We learned some very important lessons that day: #1 - Nillas don't melt and #2 - Taking naps can have potentially hazardous results