First Aid, Part II

Now that my first aid kits are put together by yours truly, and installed, I am moving on to Part II of this particular badge. I hadn’t expected the first part to have been so time consuming, but I confess, I may have spent an inordinate amount of time picking out the prettiest boxes and arranging all my things inside. You can always be less fussy; after all, it’s about safety, not color-coordinating your Band-Aids and Q-tips.

Part II seemed easy enough: Check your smoke detectors.

At first, I kinda wanted to skip this part. I mean, trust me: they work. I know this because they like to …

go off at two different times:

1. At 2 a.m.
2. When I’m making garlic bread.

But in order to be thorough, I did some checking.

Easier said than done! Did I mention I have vaulted ceilings? Did I mention I’m like, eight inches high?

Yeah. Laugh it up. But never let it be said that I am not a nimble girl! I was Spider Girl three Halloweens in a row once, after all. I have skills of the climbing variety.

So, after risking my life and limb stacking crates upon chairs upon foot stools (how ironic would it be for me to plunge to my death as I attempt to install something that’s meant to save my life? Pretty ironic. I can see the obituary now …) I wobbled my way up to the ceiling. The little dust covered, red light blinked merrily at me. I pushed the button to check the battery life.

BEEP BEEP BEEP! it said, nearly scaring the pants off me.

No! I said, as I toppled, willy-nilly to the floor.

But, eureka! This was my chance to make use of my first aid kit!  I lovingly applied my Princess Band-Aids to my stubbed toes, and used the homemade ice pack to bring comfort to my sore backside. I even got to rub a little peppermint oil on my pulse points to ward off the headache I knew was coming from catapulting three feet in the air. I popped a couple arnica and remembered the other smoke alarms.

Safety is hard work. I need a hard hat and some steel-toed boots if I’m going to keep up this kind of schedule.

An hour later, not only were all my smoke alarms in working order, but I also dusted the plant shelves (and transfered a virtual cemetery of flies into the trash), and I found a Christmas gift from last year that I had totally misplaced (I had put it on top of the entertainment unit when I saw Mr. Wonderful coming into the room. Well, I hope he enjoys his 2012 calendar this Christmas. Rats).

Next: signing up for a first aid class. I am so looking forward to learning how to make splints out of everyday things like crochet hooks.