The Morning I Went Up In Flames
(The unfortunately TRUE STORY of the day Ms. Lance set herself on fire!)
It was a typical morning, or at least that’s what I thought. The day began like any other- I woke up at 5:45, gave Delfi some kitty kisses, took a quick shower and dressed for work.
I remember being excited about the day’s outfit. My sister had just given me a treasured hand-me-down; a beautiful black shawl made of cashmere. It felt wonderful and did the same for my mood going into the workday.
Once I am dressed, I usually head to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast, as well as Delfi’s, and pack a lunch. Like most days, I began the kitchen ritual by filling up the teapot and igniting a flame on the stove beneath it.
Almost robotically, I leaned over to the cabinet above the stove to grab Delfi’s cat food as she was her usual demanding and meowy self down at my feet.
And this is when something felt different about my morning- like nothing else I’d experienced on a typical morning in the past. The feeling was not just different, it was hot. Burning hot.
The warm sensation started under my right arm as I leaned over the stove to reach the cabinet. Tired and a little slow, I continued what I was doing until the sensation quickly turned from warm into scorching. Stunned, I looked under my left arm and saw a frightening sight- my beautiful cashmere shawl in flames. And worse than that, I was wearing the shawl!
No matter how many times I’ve heard the phrase, “Stop, Drop and Roll,” my initial reaction to finding myself aflame was, for some reason, to hit myself. Without taking another moment to think, I simply started slapping myself.
Luckily it was an effective strategy. The flames were out in a moment’s time and I was surprisingly unscathed.
How I wish I could say the same for that gorgeous shawl!
The End
