Thankful

My cell phone rings at 1:18am. I run to the office, see it is a Medford number, assume it is a mistake, and do not answer. I walk back to the bedroom, carrying my phone with me to see if the caller leaves a message, when the home phone rings. Uh oh - the call was definitely for us. Gene grabs the home phone and I quickly realize it is the alarm company.

As we drive to our office and shop he tells me it is the front door. Damn - that lets out that it was a motion sensor alarm, maybe from a book shelf falling or something like that.

We pass several police vehicles on our way. They are down many dark streets and in fields. We have to park down the street until the scene is cleared. A police dog from Medford is brought in (Jackson County's dogs and handlers are at a training). The police tell us it is a forced entry. Iam certain my laptop will not be sitting on my desk, wonder what else may have been taken, kick myself for leaving several hundred dollars worth of gift cards sitting on my desk, and wondering if they can be traced if used. I worry that maybe it is not just a robbery, but also vandals. I hope my aquarium is okay, while picturing 75 gallons of water on the floor and my fish flopping around.

The police dog and handler come out of the office and the handler and a sheriff from Jackson County converse. Th dog is cool to watch. He is totally focused on his job, standing at attention facing one way and then the other. He moves with military precision, never once wagging his tail and looking up at his handler with that little look my dogs get, hoping to get my attention and a scratch behind the ears.

The sheriffs allow us to enter, asking us to tell them anything that may be missing, and to please not touch anything. The outside door knob is bent clear over, the dead bolt is still engaged, and the door jamb has splintered and broke. A file/fire cabinet safe has been pried open and the petty cash box is missing. Everything else is undisturbed. The officer dusts for prints. Of course no one likes to have finger prints visible on surfaces in their homes and offices, so most of them, including this fire safe cabinet have a textured surface. Maybe the next safe should have a smooth surface.

As we calculate in our minds how long this may have taken from the time the door was breached until the thieving bastard escaped, we know it has to be someone who has been in this room before. What a creepy feeling.

Nothing else appears to be missing. All checks are accounted for. We cannot determine if any of the keys that are kept in that safe are missing, meaning locks must be changed. After the police leave, Gene gets busy, securing the premises. He screws things back into place so we can lock up and reset the alarm. As I watch him, I wonder what other women do, those that do not have husbands as handy and "take charge" as mine. We go home around 3:30. While I am disappointed and amazed that someone would break in, knowing there was an alarm, I also know that this has kept them from being able to take their time and steal much more.

When I go back in the morning, I am tired and in a really bad mood. I call a locksmith. I call all of the neighbors on our street, learning that many of them have had problems. We have also, gas being siphoned and such. Our neighbors next door tell us that rather than siphon gas, thieves were cutting their fuel lines. Gene gets to work, doing a permanent fix on the door. We consider completely replacing the frame, perhaps having one made in steel. Then we decide it will only cause a thief to have to be more destructive. I decide not to leave my laptop at work any more, to be better about exchanging my two backup drives, and implement a few other precautions, and then just try to move on.

Late that afternoon, we go to get some lunch/dinner and Kylie calls. She is due home the next day for Thanksgiving. She is crying and asks if she can come home that night. The question is ridiculous, because she can come home any time - then she tells me about her boyfriend's uncle, who has a wife and two small children. He has had a heart attack and recovery is not looking likely - and I am reminded of what is important.