Fire and Anxiety

In yesterday's blog, I mentioned that I was going to my daughter's third grade class to deliver cupcakes and read a book.  While getting ready to go, I started a fire in my bathroom when my ceramic hair straightener blew up.  If the universe was trying to scare me to death, it succeeded.  I was simply going about the business of straightening my hair when I heard a loud pop and saw a small orange fireball come out of the outlet and land on the bathroom vanity.  I immediately put the fire out with a hand towel, and then I began hitting myself on the head with the hair towel - just in case my hair had caught on fire.  (What I wouldn't give for a video of that!)  I unplugged the straightener and made sure there was no fire anywhere.  Since I had to go to school, I ran the straightener outside and threw it in the snow so it wouldn't catch anything else on fire.  (I'm sure the elderly lady that saw me swearing at the Japanese beetles last summer saw it, and I'm once again setting the senior citizen coffee klatch at the Target Food Court abuzz with rumors of my mental instability.)  

I always used to wonder about that weird warning on certain toiletries that says "Do not spray into open flame."  Now, I realize that they were really talking directly to me and others that like to start bonfires in their bathroom sinks.  

The rest of the day was better.  This morning, I was looking forward to getting back into my morning routine.  The last couple of days, the son has been having an upset stomach and insisting that he has to go to the bathroom a lot at school and in the morning at home.  On Monday, the school nurse called and had me pick him up from school.  Yesterday morning, I had to drive him to school because he missed the bus while he was in the bathroom.  This morning, he did the same thing.  I had been emailing his teacher about this because he acts this way when he is nervous about something.  (The poor child spent the majority of three days in the school bathroom before his kindergarten concert in December.)  We just had to find out what was causing his anxiety.  Finally, on the way into school this morning, he told me that there is this boy on the bus who hits smaller kids.  I know he had knocked Joe's glasses off in the past because Joe wanted to be the first one off the bus when they got to school.  Apparently, the abuse has continued, and that is the cause of all the stomach problems.  The school guidance counselor is having a little talk with the perp today.  Hopefully, this will solve the problem.  

I'm really hoping that this is the end of all the falls, the fires and the bullying around here.  I'm sure that tomorrow will hold some more mayhem - I see it's Friday the 13th.  I may just stay in bed with the cat and the covers over my head all day.