Wandering Through The Land Of Nod.

Or is it? This is a true story in which I am fooled by a kettle lid and wonder if this is a sign of things to come.

Is there any better feeling in the world than going into the kitchen, knowing that the kettle you left heating up will be full of boiled water ready to make a good instant coffee?

Then, is there any worse feeling in the world than discovering that your beautiful, new, shiny kettle is stone cold when you get there?

/

Well, okay, I’ll admit that there are far better feelings and much worse ones than anticipating a quick cuppa and finding you’ve got to wait, but it was disappointing. 

Still, it was quickly remedied and soon the kettle heated up and produced everything I wanted in that moment.  Three years ago, when we began decorating our house, we bought a cheap kettle to keep us going with tea and coffee.   After the painting and carpeting was finished, happily we moved in and our temporary kettle became permanent.  Thankfully, it never failed to boil.  The trouble is that over Christmas, it began to leak all over the work surface, so before the year was out, we bought a new one.

All was well in the kitchen.  However, the disappointment continued.  Half a dozen times my expectations were dashed when the kettle left me cold.

Had we bought a faulty water boiler or was something strange happening in my head?  Was this an unwanted gift of retirement, thinking that I’d pressed the on switch when I hadn’t?  how long would it be before I flooded the house by leaving the bath taps on and the plughole plugged or bankrupted myself by turning on all the lights in the house on and forgetting to switch them off.  Should I begin exploring care packages?  Should I leave myself post it notes around the place reminding me to lock the door and turn off the gas ring?

I took less drastic measures.  I decided to apply myself and actually pay attention to what I was doing.  That’s a life lesson I’d do well to learn! I filled the kettle and replaced its lid.  That’s when I stopped to think ….

CLICK! where had I heard that noise before?  Once again, I removed the lid and replaced it.  CLICK! it sounded.  I pressed down the on switch.  Before the bright blue light lit up in a circle, I heard a sound.  CLICK!  Concentrating harder, I noticed that the switch click was slightly duller than the lid click, but honestly, they were close enough!

Could this be true?  Could it really be that I’d heard the first click and assumed I’d switched the kettle on?  It sounds ridiculous, but since I made that discovery, I’ve had no problem with boiling the kettle.  I can’t think of any other explanation.

How do our minds work?  I’ve long suspected that mine likes to take short cuts, rushing to the quickest solutions and happy to complete a task, not bothering with the old advice, more haste, less speed!  So, with one click, I’m likely to think all is done and all is well!   It also tells me that I can’t waste time while waiting for the kettle to boil, after all, a watched pot never boils, so I have to rush away to another task before checking what I’ve done. 

Dear brain, you serve me well, but when it comes to boiling water, remember that there needs to be two clicks, one slightly duller than the other and a blue light! Also, tell me it’s alright to check before dashing away!

Does this ring a bell, or indeed click with anyone else?  Has anyone else been fooled by a sound into thinking that something is completed?  Why not put the kettle on while you think about it?

Wander well,

Mandy.

Things I love:

• Putting the kettle on.
• Getting on with something else while the kettle boils.
• Cups of tea and coffee.