Duck and Cover
So there I was, minding my own business, winding 655 little skeins of yarn. I've been doing it all week, and I think I'm getting pretty good at it. Like ditch-digging, or sod-busting, skein-winding is an activity whose learning curve we may not fully appreciate until it's too late. And by "too late", I mean that if you find yourself actually doing any of these things, it's clear that you have not planned your life properly. But I was winding anyway, with the speed and confidence borne of practice. And that's when I heard it: POPSMASH!
I looked into the hallway whence came the noise:
What you are looking at (and it took me a full minute to figure it out, myself) is the remains of one of these:
They are builder-grade ($1.95 per 100) ceiling light fixtures. They are everywhere in my house, and probably in yours, too. Look up and see if I'm not right.
And it EXPLODED.
The bulbs inside are still intact, and happily lighting the hallway. Just the glass shade simultaneously blew up. And I'm picking shards of glass out of everything in a 10-foot radius, including the carpet, the coat closet, and if I'm not careful, my hands.
Now I have lived happily beneath my collection of builder-grade ceiling fixtures for upward of six years in this house. Before that, I had similar ones in two other homes. And at NO TIME did it ever occur to me that I should worry about them EXPLODING into a rain of glass shards. I'm really happy to report that no Smallies or pets were harmed, but I can't help but wonder if we're all on borrowed time here.
And the bigger picture also makes me anxious: I like to think I keep my mind open to the signs the universe is sending me. I believe that information about what we are supposed to be doing and thinking in this life is all around us, in the form of positive and/or negative input resulting from our actions. God/Nature/The Universe has subtle ways of letting us know when we are on (or off) the right track in our decisions. So what, Gentle Readers, am I supposed to make of this weird-ass development? Really? Broken GLASS. Raining down from the sky. I'd have to be blind (and deaf, and shard-resistant) not to notice it as some kind of signal. But of what?
A moment of reflection spent in relative safety under the dining room table produced the following possible interpretations:
1. I'm not supposed to be winding yarn right now. God wants me to investigate the many possibilities of track lighting, instead.
2. I should be paying more attention to lights being left on in areas where people are not. That's just good environmental stewardship, but apparently at my house, it's also self-preservation.
3. My weird-filled week has reached its inevitable crescendo, and I can relax in the knowledge that things are bound to settle down now (Insert Lightning Strike Here).
Which do you think it is? Or is there a larger message here that I've completely missed?
If anybody needs me, I'll be under the dining room table.
Think of this as an opportunity to switch out your light fixtures to some that do not look like breasts dangling from the ceiling.
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Thank goodness no one was hurt in anyway. Nothing like a bit of a bang to jump start your heart rate! I'd say it was to give you some adrenalin to give you the strength for finishing your winding, but I'm sure all that adrenalin is gone before you finish cleaning up something that obviously cannot wait. And then you will be spent and need a nap. Maybe God is telling you you need to rest?
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Had a similar experience years ago. However, the explanation in my case was straightforward. Kid #1 (age ~2 at the time) had tantrum in her bedroom. The full-blown type with throwing of self on floor and beating said floor with wee fists and feet.
CRASH.
What the heck?
It's when we went downstairs and found the remains of the shattered ceiling light fixture strewn across the family room that cause & effect was deduced.
Best of luck to you and hope the life under the diningroom table is free and easy.
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Well, Mary, it could be like the little red hen said,"The sky is falling!" Take care and watch out.
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It is just a random event! But to be safe, you may consider replacing your builder-grade fixtures with something safer. Keep skeining!!
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I am so glad you were not beneath the exploding star. So, what does it signify? That life is full of surprises, some of them alarming? That when a star explodes you are able to clean it up? That winding that many balls of yarn raises the temperature in your house so stars explode? I do not know. But I am thankful that you are safe and that no living creatures were in its path.
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When I have a week like yours and something like this happens, I realize that I am being told that I am not in control...and that I can now relax, because while I may at times think the world is resting on my shoulders...it is not...and I need to let go...either that...or there is some connection between the number of unmatched socks stuck in the laundry sorting machine and the equilibrium in your house.... ;o)
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Did you have the right wattage in the bulbs? We had a car window explode once and the repair guys told us about 'ghost' breakage. It seems that glass has stress lines in it. You can tap it daily until one day the stress just goes over the top and it breaks. Weird stuff. BTW, my DH calls those boob lights because they look like boobs hanging down from the ceiling. Of course, if that's the case then they have ALL had implants because none I've ever seen are drooping at all....don't know how exploding fits into the analogy!
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Mary, not to be an alarmist or anything.....
Look at the second photo in your blog post above. Look closely. To my eye, and of course I don't live in your house but look at the glass of the lamp shade. It looks to me like there is a crack in the glass, that white zig zag line. I hope I'm wrong but get someone on a ladder to look properly.
Good luck!
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Thanks, Bonny - I took a look and it seems OK. For now, anyway!
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Mentioning this to someone, I was told it was due to vibration loosening the nut that holds the thing together. They need to be tightened periodically....???
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Get thee to Home Depot and buy better lighting!!!
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I think it means you need a new light. That's all!!!
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Scary! I'm glad no one was hurt.
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