I Got Robbed!

Last week I was feeling sorry for myself because I got swindled out of $150. That's nothing compared to what I came home to last night.

After work, I went straight to my daughter's to babysit my adorable grandson, and after an evening of adventure, I went home to another.

When I pull into my driveway, I always look at the front porch. Last night, instead of seeing my red door, I saw yellow. Hmmm, that didn't look right. I parked in the garage, and went to the front door. Dang! It was wide open!

My first thought was (I'm so danged naive), "Maybe I left the front door open." Then I saw the door latch hardware on the floor, and I realized it wouldn't be good.

Someone had kicked in my front door!

I stepped in to see my cedar chest open and the contents tossed. Then I looked around the corner into the living room, and my TV was missing. CRAP!!!

There was no way I was going to stay in there in case "they" were still there; I high-tailed it out to the driveway and called 911. Misery loves company, so I called my daughter (don't ask me why) to tell her, and then I went across the street to tell my neighbors, hoping they saw something.

My neighbor came over and stayed with me until everything was taken care of. He's so sweet. He felt bad because he didn't see anything. We all keep to ourselves. We felt safe because we're right on the corner of a busy street. The policeman was surprised as well.

Anyway, the police arrived about 30 minutes later, and we walked through the house. My TV and the remote, which was in a drawer were missing. A laptop computer (from work) and its power cord, in another drawer, were gone. Yet, they left a tin bank that was full of coins. The drawers and one of the doors in my china cabinet were ajar and a large decorative box of stationery was open. I don't remember who noticed it, but someone pointed a flashlight at my dagger-like letter opener (very sharp) stuck in the living room wall. Creepy!!!

Then we headed down the hall. The laundry room, front bathroom, and guest room seemed untouched. My office still had the 2 desktop computers, my camera, and the printers (all vintage), and one of the drawers in a dresser in there was open. The doors of armoire in the workout room were ajar, and the door to the CD cabinet was open. It seems they took the 3 Wii controllers and charger but didn't take the actual Wii.

My bedroom, on the other hand, was completely tossed. Drawers were everywhere, my underwear, pantyhose, and night clothes were all over the floor. The drawer that had all my rings, watches, bracelets, and earrings was completely empty. They went through the nightstand drawers, and the drawer to my dressing table was open.

They removed my will from its envelope and left it, my passport and a box of checks. A drawer of paper and receipts was dumped on the floor, an uncased pillow was on the floor, and the contents of containers in my bookcase were all over my bed. It seemed as if they lifted the mattress to see if anything was under it because it was cockeyed. They took my Google Chrome Book and its power cord, which were on one of the nightstands.

After the police and my neighbor left, I put everything back in its place. That only took a few minutes. Then when I was talking to a friend on the phone (still seeking company), I noticed my Cabbage Patch doll and a teddy bear wearing my daughter's infant pjs were gone.

It took a couple hours afterward to settle down enough to even prepare for bed. It was close to 2:00 before I climbed in. I felt so vulnerable for the first time in many years.

My house pops and creaks all the time, and I'm used to it. But when it popped last night as I was just drifting off to sleep, it freaked me out.

Maybe I should get a dog to bark when the door bell rings. But, I don't want to have to worry about a pet. And having big dogs doesn't necessary make your "stuff" safer. A house on my street was broken into, and their 2 large dogs were drugged; they were limp on the floor while the thieves stepped over them and cleaned out the house. Maybe I'll just get a doorbell that sounds like a Rottweiler or Doberman. My next door neighbor suggested I get burglar bars like hers (which is against the HOA). If I feel I need burglar bars to be safe, I'll move.

I've been to the bank to switch my accounts because my checks were in one of the drawers. I won't be tethered to a debit card for about 5-7 working days, so I'll have to think through every money decision. Is it worth going to the bank?

My handy man and I have discussed replacing my front door (which I've been wanting to do anyway); we'll probably do that next week. Although the lock and jam for the door knob still function, the frame is compromised, and we feel it should be replaced. We've all looked for foot prints on the door or some sign of it being kicked in. Until we looked at a profile of the door and could see the indention, we couldn't figure out where they did it. The damage is in the middle of the door, almost too high for a foot. Something else must have been used instead. But what? What is the current trend for crashing through front doors?

Now I have to call the insurance company - dang!