Musings on a burst hot water bottle

It's still quite early in a cool and wet Sydney. Lacking a warm body to snuggle against, last night, I filled a hot water bottle, wrapped it in a towel, and put it in the bed so that it would be warm when I got in. I had a book and was just going to settle in to read, listening to the wind and rain. Getting into bed a few minutes later, I found it hot and wet. It appeared that the old hot water bottle had given up the ghost, releasing its total contents in a flood.

Now my first reaction was sheer annoyance. So much for my plans. Getting out towels, I started to clean the mess up feeling very annoyed. Then I thought. If I had jumped straight into bed, I could have been badly scalded. So I should feel grateful.

At first I didn't. It is hard to feel grateful when you are mopping up moisture over a bed that was your sleep destination.  Finally realizing that I and that bed could not cohabit that night, I left for the spare bedroom. Snuggling down, finally warm and listening to the wind and rain, I thought that I was lucky to actually have a spare bedroom. Then I felt grateful.