Survival Kits by Pokemon Boy

Monday night, we had an adventure. After picking up the boys from after-school care, we went straight home. We walked into the house through the garage door. My mind doesn't usually register the quick "beep beep beep!" of our house alarm telling us the door opened. But this time, it kept going, "beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep" when we walked in. Pokemon Boy and Lil'Bro came running back toward me going, "WHAT IS THAT?!" Just as I opened my mouth to say, "I don't know," the house alarm went off. Oh my goodness. That thing is LOUD! Shocking and terrifying all at once. The only reason I didn't just wet myself in the kitchen right there and then was because it was still daylight and I knew we'd been having issues with the alarm battery for the last few months.

Anyway, I ran and pushed every button I could think of. Making an extremely long story short-ish, the alarm wouldn't silence. After 5 minutes, the huge alarm stopped. But the control panel near the front door that emits the little "beep beep beep" when doors or windows open was now a non-stop, high-pitched, constant scream. No amount of button pushing changed it. Its volume was almost as deafening as the louder house siren.

The boys were in a mild state of calm panic. Pokemon Boy decided we would not be able to stay in a house with this kind of acoustic pain. He began putting together a backpack full of "everything we would need." I had no idea what he was putting in there. I was annoyed. I couldn't stop this noise and every time I opened the door to let a helpful friend in, the huge alarm went off again.

My wonderful neighbor Mr. S came and disconnected the battery. The alarm kept going. We pulled the screeching siren out of the wall but the wires weren't easily disconnected. We pulled the control panel off the entry wall but those wires were even more complex.

Finally, we abandoned ship. We went to Mr. & Mrs. S's house. They fed us dinner. Our alarm back home blared. As the hours passed and the alarm company didn't call me back as promised, I started wondering where we'd sleep.

After a couple of hours, I went back into the house. I was going to pull every wire out of the wall if I had to. I was going to STOP that noise!!!

I finally got an alarm repair dude on the phone. He walked me through some wiring issues enough to silence the horror. They're coming out to check out a possible wiring problem due to a power surge (thanks to the lightning that day).

After we got home, Pokemon Boy started unpacking his survival kit. Again, I didn't really pay attention. I saw all three of our toothbrushes carefully packed into a Ziploc® bag. It was packed full of a lot of other stuff but I didn't notice what.

Just before heading the boys up to bed, I noticed my chronological bible out on the couch. It's usually on the table by my bed. I asked him, "Hey, what's my bible doing down here?" Pokemon Boy casually replied, "I packed it for you. I figured you'd want it."

As he packed the most important things like Nintendo DSs and precious stuffed animals for his brother and him, he grabbed what he knew I couldn't go without. My bible.

Man, that kid is awesome.