Feeling Safe

Every person has a right to feel safe in their home. I no longer feel safe in mine. My DH and I came home today, to find a few things strewn about the living room, confined to the area in front of the TV. There was a drawer hanging open in our outgoing table. At first we couldn't figure out if the cat had knocked stuff down, until we realized that our Wii was gone. The cat couldn't have run off with that. Then we saw the bathroom window open and the screen missing, that's when it hit us. We'd been robbed.

My husband promptly called the police, and when he finally got through to the dispatcher, it took almost no time at all for a very nice gentleman to show up at our door. Now, we don't live in the best part of town, not by a long shot. Our car was stolen one day ago last year from right in front of our building in broad daylight. But I've never felt like I was in any danger once I was safely behind my double locks.

Apparently the readers for water and electricity are directly below our bathroom window, and it was a simple task to climb up the boxes to our second-story window. That's how they got out too, because our door was still locked when we came home. I'm just glad that I didn't come home directly after work, but stopped at Barnes and Nobles on the way home. What if I'd been at home when they broke in?

The worst part is, it all makes no sense. They took our Wii, some subway cards, a few quarters, and one of the two Wii remotes. Oh, and the empty ring boxes that our wedding rings had come in (clearly we were wearing the rings at the time). But we had our digital camera sitting out on the table, by our two desktop computers that weren't touched. My jewelry is safe (and they ran right by my engagement ring which is in the soap dish in the bathroom). For a thief, he or she clearly wasn't very prepared or thorough.

What this all boils down to, however, is that being at home doesn't seem safe to me anymore. But I have the wedding to worry about right now, without having to worry about finding an apartment or moving.

Has there been a time when you didn't feel safe, how did you handle it?