I went into the girls room to check to see if they were sleeping about an hour after saying goodnight and much to my surprise (why does anything surprise me anymore?), they had made some sort of fort/pile/mess surrounding their beds, leading out the doorway into the hall.

They were in that half-awake, half-asleep state while I explained we could not leave a mess like this on the floor in case we needed to get out of the house in a hurry. This caused a series of questions and one tired Mommy who finally, admittedly in error, told them we may need a quick exit if there was ever a fire in our house.

How could I have known that comment would spur a series of frantic questions followed by panic, tears and a general disinterest in ever falling asleep, ever again.

When I finally calmed them and followed the path towards “safety first” they nodded off or so I thought.

I crept back in for a peek a few minutes later and the room was clean. Clothes were put away, large objects that had previously blocked the door had been relocated. In fact, everything that could in any way impede their path to safety had been removed including a fan, a dehumidifier, an area rug and yes even the hooks that once held their bathrobes had been pulled from the wall. I was surprised the carpet hadn’t been peeled back exposing the underpad.

Safety First!