Perhaps a strange start to the year

I have this little light. It only comes out at Christmas. It’s not especially Christmassy but it lives in amongst the ornaments up in the attic, generally, so I think of it as Christmassy. It runs on two 3A batteries and although I’ve had it for years, I’ve never yet changed them… I don’t think? It changes colour automatically, gently. I just like it. Cost buttons too.

But now he’s annoying me! I know, Christmas is over and it should be gone, but I thought, as it appears to be running down, I’ll just let it run out this year. So about the 4^th of January, thereabouts, I left him on, thinking it would be ‘empty’ overnight and I could store him away with a good conscience until next year. The on/off broke off years ago and I have to fiddle with a paperclip to even stop and start it so, saved myself that bother. Only… it’s still going! Still changing colour, still bloody working!

I can’t now put it away and I don’t want to toss it… as I said, I do rather like the stupid thing.

Now, my propensity… my penchant, if you will… to anthropomorphise inanimate objects (and animals) is fairly legendary - I hear myself saying 'he'! I well remember embarrassing J in front of his whole family watching the TV advert with an animated pea being chased by a fork, by saying aloud ‘oh, poor wee pea!’. I haven’t improved. Or perhaps, depending on how you look at things, I have! Haha. It’s handy for writing silly stories though! I’m not entirely cuckoo, it’s just I don’t easily part with things and, to be honest, some things just cry out to me. The longer they’re in my possession too, the more attached I become. They create their own level of ‘life’, if I can call it that.

There’s a (rather arbitrary, entirely invented by me) scale to it, I think? A tattie old, well-thumbed, often read, falling-to-bits book, isn’t as high on the scale as a first-child-baby-vest (for instance) but it’s up there. My own old teddy, not even hugely cuddled, to be honest (he sat on the shelf even then) beats soft toys belonging to the grandchildren, but they’re up there too. (I cannot just dump them - what will they think of me!) Magazines are on a lower scale (I don’t have the same feelings for them and don’t attribute feelings to them… phew!) but I do feel bad dumping those in good condition - and I have rather a lot of them! I wanted to get a baby-sized hot water bottle that would fit the silly little cover I have for the one that leaked, but ended up getting two entirely new ones in dangerously cute covers (with faces!) and caught myself feeling sorry for the old one, still empty. Save me!

You can now imagine how I feel about this little light! I’m giving you extra time out of the box, you pest! And now you’re messing with me? You know I hate tossing batteries that are not yet done - (witness the stash of ‘used-but-surely-still-useable?’ in the drawer) - but you’re patently not working optimally so… gonnae gie up?! Yes, on rereading this, I am aware I am addressing a piece of plastic.

I know, the men in white coats are getting ever closer, but I keep stuff at bay. Mostly. Keep all my little idiosyncrasies under wraps most days. Some days are just not worth chewing through the straps though, so I’m speaking about it today. Baring my all, so to speak. I blame this bloody light! Yes, you, ya pest!

Addendum: He lasted until the 19th of Jan. I put him out of his misery as he was definitely just gasping.