The Love Alarm
Murphy’s Law recently stopped by our house unannounced. The freezer broke, the oven short-circuited, and the garage door jammed all at once. None are repairable.
To save money, we started by doom-scrolling on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for decent used appliances. None of them fit our kitchen dimensions, budget, or tolerance for scammers.
We then spent a good part of the weekend walking the aisles of appliance retailers, hounded by salespeople who could smell our desperation. One dude pressured us to buy a new fridge that was more expensive than my car.
I became exhausted by the lack of progress and wasted time. The fridge continues to beep unexpectedly every few days, a painful reminder we have failed to find a path forward.
Today, we were quietly sitting at the kitchen counter, and the beeping from the fridge started again. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. No one said anything.
We all rolled our eyes. Then my husband broke the silence.
“It’s the love alarm,” he declared. “I decided that every time the fridge starts beeping, it means that someone you love is thinking of you.”
He went on.
“From now on, when you wake up early and walk into the kitchen, you’ll know someone loved you throughout the night. When you are alone and hear the beeps, it means you are especially loved.”
Oh wow. I suddenly felt immense relief and a powerful reframe.
Now, when the beeping starts, I laugh with glee and delight.
I still need to fix the problem, but I don’t have to suffer from self-imposed frustration and exhaustion. This was a profound reminder that it’s all about perspective.
What can you reframe into a love alarm today?
