It was a quintessential plot. It all happened in slow motion. I picked up one of my beautiful, square-cut diamond stud earrings (which I wear all the time), and somehow it escaped my pincher grasp. Three bounces around the sink, and it was gone. Down the drain. Five nights of late night painting cutting into my precious sleep may have had something to do with my slow reflexes.* Needless to say, first-time home ownership has been an adventure!

Don’t use my sink. My earring fell down the drain. You don’t have to do anything with it right now. Just don’t use my sink. My husband’s tired eyes pop open and before I know it, he’s examining the pipes beneath the sink. After a few minutes of tinkering, he tiredly says, “I have no clue what I’m doing.” It looked like he could fall asleep in the bathroom floor.

It made my morning. I’m still laughing. I shooed him back to bed so I could finish my morning routine. I’ll Google it later. Don’t use my sink.

This is an earring, which does have some sentimental value but is quite easily replaced; it is an object. However, this situation and my husband’s response made me think about nurses, hospitals, and safety. If only more people would confess their inadequacies and uncertainties (and/or gross lack of sleep), we might have safer hospitals, fewer errors, decreased deaths, and happier healthcare workers.

*I have no direct patient care today. My stated tiredness may impact meetings, but it will not impact the health of another person.