Shhh! Do y’all hear that?

 So for a while now, the Youngest Princess has been saying, “Shhh!  Do y’all hear that?”  We would stop and listen, and hear…nothing.  Usually she would say, “Well, it has stopped now!”  

I would ask her to explain what she was hearing.  She said it was coming from the wall by the window.  That it sounded like a buzzing bug in the window.  We would move the curtains and look for a bug.  There would be no bug in sight.

There is an outlet under the window.  I would feel it.  It would not be hot.  I would unplug the cords plugged into the outlet.  They would not hot either.

There is a vent on the floor directly under the window and the outlet.  I would turn on my flashlight and look down the vent to see if something had fallen down in the vent and was rattling.  Nope.  That was not the problem either.

We have done this same song and dance several times over the last couple of months.  Every time ending with the Youngest Princess saying that she could not believe we could not hear what she was hearing.  

So about a week ago, I finally heard it!  Same song and dance trying to diagnose the problem.  Same results.

Tonight, the Youngest Princess, my Prince and I were sitting in the living room watching TV when the Youngest Princess said, “Do y’all hear it?  It’s getting louder!”  

I looked at the wall and fire is coming out of the outlet.  The lamp plugged into the outlet went out.  The television went off.  Things were popping and cracking.  I’m trying to think how to get the cords unplugged and put the fire out while panicking that the curtains are going to catch fire.  It was obviously an electrical fire, and I knew water was not the answer.  All the while, I was visualizing our 100+ year old home going up in flames.  I don’t remember doing it but the Youngest Princess says I yelled, “Fire!”  Yes.  Thank you, Captain Obvious.  

 It is amazing how fast something can happen yet it seems to be moving in slow motion while your brain thinks a million thoughts.  And apparently in a crises my brain and my mouth have a disconnect.

Meanwhile, my Prince has jumped up and is standing there staring at the flames leaping from the outlet.  Probably like me trying to process it all and figure out how to put the fire out.  

The Youngest Princess has jumped up from her chair and let out a blood curdling scream, and run toward the kitchen.  

The scream has summoned the dog from his nap on the rug in the dining room and he comes padding into the living room.  I grab him to keep him from getting closer to the fire.  My Prince has grabbed the curtain to keep it from the flames.

Meanwhile, the cords plugged into the outlet have fallen out of the outlet, and the fire has gone out (with no help from the shocked, dumbfounded, pitiful lot of us).  

There is a nasty burnt rubber smell permeating the air.  

I come to my senses and tell my Prince to feel the wall around the outlet to see if it is hot.  The Youngest Princess goes outside to feel the other side of the wall to see if it is hot.   All is well on the inside and outside.  

We  all sit in the dark and stare at the outlet.  I have the Youngest Princess turn her phone flashlight on so that I can take pictures to send to the Oldest Princess and the Young Prince.

I wanted to be sure that everything was okay, so I asked my Prince to call a friend of ours who is a fire chief.  Bless his heart, after a long day, he came over and checked it out for us.  He told us he felt that all was well, and we were good to stay in the house.  He is a saint.

After things settled down, and we knew we were okay, we talked about how we all reacted differently.  I asked the Youngest Princess why she ran into the kitchen.  She said, “I don’t know…for water I guess.  To put the…Oh no!!  It was an electrical fire!  I know better than that!  What was I thinking?!?”  Apparently, she gets crises brain disconnect from me.  She knew better, but panicked in the middle of everything.  I told her I would have stopped her before she could put water on it.  That is, if she was cognizant enough to hear me through her panic.  But thankfully things did not get that far.

So, we prayed and thanked the Lord for His hand of protection on us.  It could have been so much worse.  It could have happened when we were not home.  The wall could have caught on fire.  The cords could have caught on fire.  The curtains a mere 4 to 5 inches above the plug could have caught on fire.  The 100 year old pine floors could have caught on fire.  The Youngest Princess could have fanned the flames by throwing water on them in her panic. 

But God.

He was watching out for us.  

It certainly wasn’t anything any of us did.

 I have no doubt it was His hand of protection on our home and our family.  So tonight, as we lay snug in our comfortable beds, we are grateful, and we give God all the praise.  He is good!