As many of you know, my sister Paula and her 4 children are visiting with us right now and we are having a wonderful time. Paula is my best friend and I love her children as if they were my own.
We had been to Estes Park for 3 nights, camping and I was looking forward to getting home, off the floor and into my nice and cozy bed. But, someone had a different plan for me. Alexis, my niece had fallen asleep on the camping mats in the living room that I put out for her and her brother, Burhan. So, I sat down next to her to wait for “Han” and he decided to go upstairs and sleep in his mom’s room. I knew that Alexis would not stay down there at night by herself…so much for my comfy bed.
As usual though, God and the Universe had things under control. About 3:30 in the morning, I heard a distant smoke alarm. I could not figure out where it was coming from, but I had already been awake anyway thinking that I should turn off the fans. So, I went upstairs and by the time I got there, I smelled something funny—still thinking it was the fan, I turned it off. Now, another smoke alarm went off, so I went to wake up Pete (he used to be a fireman) and as soon as he got up, he said “Everybody OUT!”—The 2 older kids got up, Paula and I each grabbed a younger kid and all headed out the front door—still not sure what was happening. I could hear Pete on the phone, calling 911 and then we stood outside and watched our home fill with smoke in a matter of 10 seconds.
All of the sudden, I saw a computer flying out the basement door, then an office chair, files…you get the idea—all in flames. Pete was taking trying to save our home from going up in flames.
I know you don’t have an hour today to read the entire saga, but let me tell you that because of my quick thinking husband, he saved our home. The fire and police department were dispatched t o the wrong address and it took then 15 minutes to arrive. We are all safe and sound—and we will now start to restore our home office and rebuild our basement. I don’t recommend you try to do this yourself as Pete did, but as I said, he used to be a fireman, so it was a bit safer than your average Joe.
Ultimately, the hard drive in one of our laptops overheated and caught on fire. The flames jumped to files, the desk, an office chair and then the carpet. I have never seen anything happen so fast.
Thankfully, I slept one more night on the floor, so I heard the downstairs alarm early and thankfully, Pete is such a quick thinker. Don’t know how long it will be before Paula and the kids visit again…
What is the moral of the story? There are quite a few. The first is to back up your computers often. The second is to pay attention to what is plugged in and on and what is not. The third is to be sooooo grateful for who and what you have because it can go up in flames in about 10 seconds.
To your growth and success (and lots and lots of money),
Karen Schaefer
www.SimpleAppeal.com
www.1dollarstagingcoach.com
PS—Join me on my quest to make more money and have more fun at www.1dollarstagingcoach.com
PPS—Have a question about Staging, Marketing, Buying or Selling—or even a deal you have? Go to my website, www.SimpleAppeal.com and post a comment on my Blog. You might just sell a house!
Posted by kschaefer
