Yesterday I had an appointment with my trainer at the gym right after work, but I got a really bad headache before I left. I had planned on going straight home and rescheduling, but Ryan said I should go, that it might help my headache to work out, so I went. She was really tough on me! My arms are really sore today. Anyways, I am glad I did, because when I got home I saw that the door leading to the garage from the house was wide open and my dog Stella was standing in the middle of the garage.
Exasperated, I pulled in and figured that Ryan might not have shut it hard enough and the wind might have blown it open. I walked into the house and saw that the back door leading to the back yard was open, and then I got REALLY irritated with him! I proceeded to shut and lock the doors, get Aubrey out of her carseat and play with her in the living room when I noticed that the lights in our bedroom were on. You all know that I am BIG on “If you aren’t USING them, turn the lights off!” and it actually goes beyond going green, it’s a moral conviction for me. So you can imagine how much more irritated I became when I assumed my husband had left all the lights on this morning. He got home and I proceeded to reprimand him for leaving the doors open and the lights on and he was very confused, knowing that he has made an extra effort to conserve energy.
I decided to go take a shower and that’s when I noticed that my closet had been completely ripped apart. I asked Ryan if he had been looking for anything and he said no, and came back and that’s when he noticed that his closet had been ripped apart and that his gun safe had been tampered with. He had 3 guns stolen. Those were the only things missing. I had several things that would have been annoying to lose, but no other rooms had been tampered with.
So, naturally, we started freaking out a little bit. I called the police but apparently yesterday the warm weather made everyone want to beat their wives and shoot each other because the cops had a lot of calls and he did not arrive until 9 pm. In the meantime we didn’t touch anything and talked to the neighbors, one of which said he had been home since 2 working on his garden and didn’t see anything weird. He also said his truck had been broken into several times, and instead of taking money or a credit card that was in there, they took a clipboard and tools. He thinks it’s a bunch of teenagers that live down the street. Which, if that’s the case, I am wondering what kind of teen would go straight for the guns and not the computer or ipod, so please pray that they will not use them for violence. But the other option is that we had someone work on our garage door about a month ago, someone who would know how to get into the garage, when we aren’t home, and had tools. If a regular truck had pulled up, opened the garage with a remote, the neighbor wouldn’t have thought anything of it. We’re looking into it.
The cop dusted for prints and examined the doors. No prints, no sign of forced entry. He informed us that if you go up and down your street and push your own garage door opener, it will inevitably open other people’s garage doors. I never lock the door from the house to the garage bc I normally have the carseat and a diaper bag. They probably got in that way, and when they heard me get home, they ran out the back door and that’s why that one was open. I am SO GLAD I went to the gym after work. So, if you don’t lock that door in your own home, it might be wise to start. I know I did this morning AND we are getting the locks changed.
I am very grateful that we don’t have to deal with identity theft- that would be a nightmare. But it disturbs me that these people apparently knew Ryan had guns and went specifically for them. Either they got lucky, going straight to the master bedroom or they did it on purpose. I know not everyone agrees with hunting for sport, but I always felt a little more secure in my home, knowing that if someone did break in while we were home, Ryan could protect us. Now the very things meant to protect are gone, and hopefully only for profit and not violence. Hunting to Ryan is so much more than killing and animal and using it for food- it represents his introduction to, love and respect for nature and wildlife, as well as wonderful bonding moments with his father, grandfather and friends.
Needless to say, we are changing the locks today and getting a security system with cameras this weekend. Please pray that I can stop being scared to go to my own home soon! And that they get caught. If they sell them to a pawn shop anywhere in America, it will show up on a system and its pretty likely that any justice remaining in this situation will be had. Its just that, they took more than stuff, you know? They took my sense of a safe home away.
(Oh, and I apologized profusely to Ryan for yelling at him about the lights 
)
