Appreciation

It never ceases to amaze me how life can teach us lessons in the most unexpected of ways and afford us appreciation for things that seem to lie unused and unnoticed in the background until the time arises that we really need it.

Today, the bacon caught fire in the oven. [That's right. We cook our bacon in the oven. Get over it.] We've done this many times before, the same way it was attempted today. Except, this time, it decided to burst into flames as I opened the oven door. Now, it wasn't a big fire. But, it was bigger than any fire I've ever had to deal with inside my home. There was a brief second of slight panic due to the flames and billowing smoke. But, from the kitchen table I heard, "do you have a fire extinguisher?". Fortunately for us, we have THREE. Two of which are under the sink just next to the stove. I pulled one of them babies out, and, within seconds, no more fire.

Now, let me just point out two things that I was not aware of about in-home fires - One, it does not take long for a small fire to fill a two story home almost completely with smoke. I now understand why so many people die of smoke inhalation before the fire gets to them. It was FAST. The fire was only burning for maybe 15-20 seconds, then, some residual smoke after it was extinguished. But, it took every door and window being open and a fan pushing smoke out of an upstairs bedroom window to get the smoke out over a good 30 minutes to relieve the house of smoke. Two, fire extinguishers make a HUGE MESS! Don't get me wrong - many thanks and kudos to the inventor of the extinguisher. But, with just a quick squeeze and sweep, everything in the entire kitchen area was covered in the residue. We had to clean everything. But, oh well. No one was hurt. And, luckily, no damage to the oven...that I can tell.

So, what do we take from this? Well, for one, GO BUY A FIRE EXTINGUISHER FOR YOUR HOUSE, OR TWO...OR THREE! And, just because something (or maybe someone..?) has been sitting in the background, quiet and unobserved, doesn't mean that it does not have a place in your life. That we should lose our appreciation the unobtrusive - for those things that only seem to be there for when we need them. Just when you least expect it, you may need to reach for it or call for its help, and it may just be that which may save your life.