A Cold Adventure

Hi there. Hy here.

About midnight, Daddy came and woke me up. What's going on, I asked him with my eyes half shut. The furnace has gone out, Daddy explained. We're going to go sleep with James and Bruce. They're my best friends - I go over to play at their house every week. So Daddy bundled me up and put me to sleep in their kitchen. It was REALLY cold that night ... below -10 with windchill. I told Daddy, "cold."

I got to spend the whole day with James and Bruce! I was excited like Christmas morning! Mom was there too, but Daddy wasn't. He had to go talk to the Man with the Big Beard. The Man with the Big Beard told Daddy how to fix the furnace - there's a safety switch that somehow got toggled ... maybe by a 3' tall person running through the hallway? ... and when it was put back, the furnace turned on. It took 30 seconds, tops. Daddy said when he got home, he could see his breath making little clouds. Mom was really glad we didn't have to sleep at home.

Then the Man said that he could smell an odorless gas coming from the furnace. ... I don't understand that either, but it does smell kinda funny. So Daddy went to the store to get some tools to clean the furnace, hoping he wouldn't have to buy a new one. He also picked up some tools to fix the screen door and the front door locks, and he borrowed a ladder so he can clean the drains when it thaws. He tested the furnace and found NO invisible gasses that could kill us all. That's good.

Daddy thinks it's a good idea for families to have carbon monoxide and radon testers normally to keep little kids safe. They only cost about $20, and that's worth it to make sure I'm safe, he says. Maybe it's time for you to get a testing kit from your local hardware store. My name is Hyrum, and I approved this public service announcement.

Daddy was really tired when he got back. He had been sick on Friday but couldn't rest on Saturday. He laid on the couch and read to me and James for a while. Then he put me to bed and played Dominion with Mom and James' parents. Then they woke me up and brought me home.

I'm glad to be home again. I told Daddy, "home. home." Even during the day, I told Mom, "go home." I also told Daddy, "kitty" because I like to go to sleep with my white Christmas kitty this week. Mom is really happy to be home too. She never realized that without heat, it doesn't even feel like a home: just four very thin walls.

I needed to go to bed early tonight. Daddy thinks maybe it's time for me to do a lot of sleeping so I can grow really fast. Daddy said he wants to go to bed early tonight too. Maybe he wants to grow really fast like me!