I was aware that something was making a sound that repeated at regular intervals. Walking around the bedrooms, I stood under a smoke alarm as it chirped. Thankfully, I couldn’t really hear it from my bedroom without hearing aids. What a plus!

I had already bought the batteries for the 5 alarms in the house and had asked daughter Lise and friend Toke if they would replace them for me in the middle of the month. I couldn’t remember when David last changed one in the middle of the night. It could have been one year or two. There are ads every year to change these batteries when the clocks change, and I have now decided that would be a good idea. Meanwhile, I couldn’t wait two weeks with that racket going on. I fetched the ladder from the garage and had a new battery on it.

Seeing Jeff come home on his motorcycle next door, I texted him to see if he could change one. He was here in two minutes. He let me watch the process, which was very easy. He simply opened a little door, replaced the battery, and closed it. On his way out, he reached an alarm in the hallway and could have replaced that one without a ladder! He is quite tall, so that wouldn’t work for the rest of us. Daughter Kate is driving here today, so she and I will change any battery that chirps, otherwise I’ll wait for Toke. I keep writing that I have the best neighbors in the world, and this is another tale to prove it. How thankful I am to live among these people!