Even though he's almost 9, I still put the Little Guy to bed, tuck him in, have a chat and all that stuff. The Ball & Chain thinks he's old enough to put himself to bed, but I don't have the heart to send him off by himself. Besides, putting him to bed ensures that he actually makes it into bed and doesn't stop half way there to pet the dog for half an hour, or whatever else distracts him.
When I go to bed myself, I usually check on him (to make sure he wasn't up to any mischief), and I open his door to allow the air to circulate and to avoid confusing the air/heat thermostat. (If we keep his door closed, his room is like a walk-in fridge next morning.)
Last night however, I was so tired I almost fell into bed and didn't do the usual checking and opening of doors.
Perhaps if I had, I would have discovered that the LG had put his bedside lamp on, and then decided to balance a plastic cup on the bulb before he went to sleep.
When I went into his room this morning the first thing that hit me was an acrid smell of...something. I walked around his room doing the old bloodhound impersonation. "What's that smell?" I asked, more than once. Faulty wiring came to mind. Just one more thing to go on my to-do list.
"Ah", said the LG. And that's when he told me that he'd woken at about 4am to find smoke coming off the bulb, and the plastic cup melted all over the bulb, on the bedside table etc. etc. He didn't want to come in and wake me up because
Like I said, the possibilities that ran through my mind are, well,.... let's just say it doesn't bear thinking about.