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A Lock Set Tucked Away Saved the Day

I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but I have a horrible time getting everything done when I’m trying to pack for a trip. Something always comes up and obstacles arise out of nowhere. It’s a wonder I ever arrive at my destination.

I’m currently at a writers retreat where I’m refilling my cup of creativity. I was the first to make it to the campground, but I’d planned to be here much earlier than I arrived. Any plans of getting an early start vanished with me going to bed in the wee hours of the morning.

It all started the evening before I was scheduled to leave. I worked my ten-hour shift at my day job and then stopped at the store for some last minute supplies. I got home and inserted my key in the lock of my front door and turned it. The key spun, but the lock didn’t disengage.

This shouldn’t have been a major issue because I have a key to my back door. The problem was the gate to my back yard. It was locked. Again, that shouldn’t have been a huge deal because I had a key to that, too. Well, I used to have a key for the gate. I believe my husband changed the lock due to damage it sustained in a storm. He forgot to give me a new key or I lost it. I honestly don’t think he gave me one.

I was faced with the choice of scaling the fence or calling my dear hubby to come and unlock the gate. While it’s not an extremely tall fence, it’s big enough to give me pause. I’m not as young and nimble and I once was. I chose the latter option and sat on my front porch for a while waiting for him to come home from work with the appropriate key.

When he arrived, he immediately removed my key from the deadbolt and tried his. Surprise, surprise. It didn’t work. Acknowledging I was right about the problem, He went to the side of the house and unlocked the gate. Then we trudged through the mud to our back door. Sure enough, my key to that door worked just fine.

We had to fight with the front door lock from inside to get it to release. Luckily, I happened to have a new lock set put away for a rainy day. It’s one I’d bought for my mother-in-law’s front door, but it was the wrong kind. Instead of returning the set, I had tucked it away in a drawer.

Thank goodness for happy accidents. I gave my husband a key from the package and told him he’d need it to get into the house when he got off work the next morning. After shaking his head in disbelief that I had a new entry set just lying around, he went back to work. I changed the locks and even managed to fix a problem we’d been having with the door staying closed by replacing the strike plate. Unfortunately, this impromptu project ate up a great deal of my packing time. Hence, I didn’t get to bed until after 1:00 a.m.

I believe in being prepared. I try to plan for every contingency. While the lock set didn’t work for my mother-in-law’s house, I sure am glad I decided to put it away for future use instead of returning it for a refund. Normal people may never need to replace a lock set, but I’ve replaced dozens of them in my house. We are hard on things. If there’s a way to break something we’ll find it. Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.

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