What a morning

Tuesday morning I awoke to three or four inches of new snow on the ground. That meant trying to get out the door a few minutes early so I could get to work on time. There is little traffic on the streets at 4:45 but snow still slows one down. I went through my usual routine of putting on my work boots, my work coat, grabbing a stocking cap and my work gloves before heading out the door. Until the beginning of March three of us were living in the house with only two spots in the garage. February was my month to park on the street, so Tuesday was the first morning in awhile that I had headed out the back door. I locked the door on the inside and pulled it shut behind me and took several steps down the sidewalk before I realized that I had no keys whatsoever. My only option was to go around to the front of the house and ring the doorbell. (Actually there were other options: sit on the porch, get really cold and miss work, or go wake the neighbor who has the key.) Jan was my best option but I also knew that she was not likely to respond if I rang the doorbell only once or twice. After all, she is a night owl so 4:40 really is the middle of the night for her. So I rang the doorbell repeatedly waiting for a light to come on.

According to Jan she wake up, wondering if a robber would ring the doorbell incessantly. Then she thought surely I'd still be there and I would answer the door. She did manage to get out of bed, find a sweater and cautiously come down the stairs. We can see the bottom half of the stairs from outside the front door so she wasn't sure what/who she would see when she came around the corner. I'm not sure if she was glad to that it was just me or not as I stood there mouthing to her that I needed my keys. She brought them to me and I headed off. I was halfway to work before I realized that I hadn't locked the front door behind me so I hoped Jan had been coherent enough to get her own keys and lock it. I wasn't going to call her to check.