Air Raid Siren…

I swear one of these days my house is going to collapse into the ant colony it’s been built upon.

Little ants will take over, carry me off to their leader where they’ll pay me back for the years of Raid I’ve inflicted on their ancestors.

This morning, my alarm went off at 6:30.

Not that I set it.

I was awoken by this obnoxious noise in my house…the dog suddenly on full alert…staring at me with that “do something” look she gets on her furry face from time to time.

I headed downstairs to see what could be done.

The thing is, I’ve lived in this house for 7 years and while there’s definitely a panel for a security alarm by my front door…it was put there by the previous owners and the fact remains, it’s never been used. Not once. In all these years.

So…the blaring noise coming from the thing in the kitchen that I’d thought was either an air exchanger doo-hickey or a doorbell thingamajiggy…was a bit of a shock.

With no alarm code…I began pressing buttons in an attempt to stop the chaos. My dog, glued to my legs in her attempt to never leave my side.

Nothing happened…but for the continuing, incessant noise.

Off to the electrical panel in the basement I went where multiple wires were daring me to pull them and cause further issues. I found the battery for the alarm system…removed it…nothing. I flicked the power from every kitchen plug listed on the panel…to no avail.

So…at 7:15, I did what any single woman with massive electrical issues and an alarm that won’t stop ringing does…I called my Dad.

Within no time, he’d arrived…found the alarm behind my kitchen china cabinet and pulled it from the wall. All noise ended with the exception of the beep beep beep from the panel in the front hall. So…he took that apart…and again, pulled the wires from the wall.

I tried to go back to bed where I laid there…my brain too wide awake from the screeching alarm to even consider settling down…I tried to mediate…breathe the air…but my mind kept compiling lists of things I needed to do as the dog sat staring at me with that “do something” look she gets on her furry face from time to time.

So I got up…knowing I needed a stiff cup of tea and some paper and pen to write down all of the “to do” items that were causing a little chaos in my brain.

I entered the kitchen, flicked on the kettle…discovered I had no power then remembered I’d possibly forgotten to flick back the buttons on the electrical panel…went back downstairs to discover I was right…went back up to the kitchen to get that well deserved cup of tea…and saw them.

One million two hundred and sixty-four thousand five hundred and forty-six ANTS.

Apparently…they came in to see what was making all the noise earlier that morning and decided to stick around for a cup of tea…a couple of crumbs…the remains of last night’s ice cream and the small spill of sweet and sour sauce next to the coffee pot.

A quick trip to the store and I’d a new can of Raid in one hand…ready to wreak havoc on my house guests…and a cup of Tim’s tea in the other! After all, may as well run through the drive thru since I had to go out anyway!

This morning…I was awoken with a nasty start, enjoyed the company of my father and dealt with a few unwanted guests…all before 8AM!

I swear one of these days, I’m going to collapse into the ant colony upon which my house is built.