Remote Control

Another Brian present. He installed a motion sensor in our main floor bathroom. It's fantastic. Maddie is now willing to wash her hands alone because the light goes on automatically for her. Between the automatic light and the new sink faucet life is good for my little girl. Knowing that I requested a motion sensor - remote control type of gadget be installed in my house makes me laugh today. Remote control stuff has a history in our house. When we were first married, we did the whole wedding and honeymoon thing like everyone else. We returned home and I moved into the apartment we had rented together. The first morning I spent there came with some surprises. I was jolted from a peaceful sleep by a floodlight switching on directly in my face. Okay, it was just the bedroom light, but it had been dark and now it was bright as noonday. "What the heck?" I wondered. I laid there for a bit, waiting for Brian to wake up. He did not. I waited and waited. It was WAY earlier than I needed to get up. I laid there, trying to sleep for about an hour. Then his alarm started going off. He got up. Finally! He was getting up. Nope. He pushed snooze (like the rest of us) for another thirty minutes. After laying in bed for an hour we finally got up, got ready for work and headed out the door. Being a love sick newlywed, I didn't mention the terrible morning events. Unfortunately for me, it happened again the next day. And the next and the next. I don't know how many days until I had to say something. I was loosing a solid hour and a half of quality sleep time every single day. I know I didn't make it a week though before I broke. The newlywed bliss was ended. We had to talk. In his defense, he had a logical argument for the insanity. It is easier to adjust and wake up to a lighted room. It is more natural for your body. True. And if I wasn't jolted from a sound sleep each morning only to lay in bed for an hour each morning trying to sleep with a pillow over my head, it would have been fine. Turns out that in high school Brian had worked at RadioShack. While he was gainfully employed there, he had purchased a snazy alarm clock that works with your wall outlets and light switches. You replace the standard outlet or wall switch with the RadioShack remote one and then your remote can be set to turn on or off any light or gadget. He had installed the remote light switch in our bedroom and a wall outlet to control the air conditioner. Once when Kristie came over she was confused by all the remotes and still to this day asks Brian when he's going to put the toilet on remote too. Through the years we have had tons of things on remote...the porch light, christmas tree lights and lights in the yard, air conditioner, fans, ceiling lights, etc. My favorite has been the Christmas lights on our tree. He has every kid we've ever known convinced that if they blow on the tree it turns on and if you clap your hands it turns off or vice versa. In Houston, the Boseman's daughter Rhiannon went home and told her mom that Brian was cooler than her daddy because he had a magic tree and she didn't like their tree anymore. Anyway, remotes have always been a part of our life and I assume they always will.