A lost sense of security

I grew up in a safe idyllic place. I lived in Eastern Washington in a town called Walla Walla. The area was famous for its sweet onions. Walla Walla Sweets are still my favorites. It was a good and secure place to raise a family.

We lived about 5 miles out of town. Our house sat in the middle of a wheat field with the most wonderful view of the Blue Mountains. Back then you didn't have to worry about whether or not you lock your doors. In fact my family would go on vacations for two weeks at a time and we never did locked the doors. There was a sense of security. The fears and concerns you have living in a larger city were not part of the mind set in the town where I grew up. But then it was a different time and a different place.

I use to have that sense of security here where I'm living now. I am not foolish by any means, I lock my doors. After all I live in an area which is seeing an increase of illegal activity. My one slip in not being diligent at home was not always shutting my windows. My youngest and soon to be first time mom, gets after me constantly to close the windows when I leave. I didn’t think I had to. My apartment is in the back and in the corner, who knew I was there? I guess I still carried that sense of security with me I had since my youth

Right behind my place is a huge yard with fruit trees and berry bushes. It is bordered by two high fences, no one walks through that yard. To the south of me is church property,I am at the back corner of that property once again no foot traffic. Where those two properties meet is a small apartment complex. I see only the back part of this unit, their bedroom windows face me. How many people look out their bedroom windows in an apartment?

That is what made my apartment so nice, no one knew I was back here. I could sit on my patio in the morning and not worry about people walking by. That was until the break-in.

My roommate and I attend the same prayer meeting on Tuesday night. She always makes it home before me. This night we pulled into the parking lot together. First let me say; I have lived in this small thirteen unit place for about 8 yrs. I know my neighbors and I recognize their friends.So when I saw the man walk out from around the bushes carrying something I thought looked red I immediately had a warning flag go up in my spirit.

I parked the car and walked towards my apartment, as I tried to put my key into the door it fell open. Hmmm some concern here. Now at this point my mind is racing, trying to think was I the last one to leave? Did I not lock the door? As
I stepped inside and looked towards the sliding class door my stomach dropped, it too was open.

I quickly stepped back out of the apartment turned and told my roommate “something is wrong both doors are opened.” This was a too bizarre,a flood of emotions raced through my body, should I be afraid? Is this really happening? What the heck I am suppose to do now? Luckily the neighbor man was upstairs, I called and asked him to come down and walk through the apartment with us. After explaining why he was down in a flash and one by one we slowly entered.

It didn’t take long to realize what had happened. There were items on my bedroom floor that once was in the dresser. “oh man I can’t believe this has happened to me” I didn’t know whether to cry or be angry or both. As we continued through the apartment it became apparent the perpetrator came through the kitchen window.
The same window I had left open just a crack that morning because I had been cooking bacon. Besides I didn’t worry I had that sense of security.

The police came and then another guy who took fingerprints. They made their report, gave us a case number, tried to reassure us and then left. Had I only know this was going to happen I would have cleaned better.

We were lucky, not much was taken. The guy didn’t find my roommates wedding jewelry. He did get my camera, which hurt. I love to take pictures and I would carry this camera most places I went. He got some money and a pad of checks and a red canvas bag of mine. Hmmm that guy who I saw was carrying something red.

So the locks have been changed, the window is fixed and I now place a stick of wood in it. I have called my insurance man, talked with a claim adjuster, that was a laugh, there is not enough of a loss to cover the $500 deductible. I also went to the bank to put a block on the checks he stole. It has been over a week since it happened and I still have not gotten a hold of the credit bureaus. It has all been a gigantic pain but life goes on.

It is not the few items this person took that infuriates me, he took from me my
sense of security that I have had all these years. But you know what, my anger will pass, I will eventually stop looking at the men on the street to see which one was the guy I saw that night carrying the red bag. I will also stop jumping at the little sounds I hear in my apartment. This could have been such a tragedy. If my roommate and I would have come home just five minutes early, we might have walked in on him. We truly are blessed because no one was hurt and he didn’t get away with much.

Besides I now have a new camera, just in time for my second grandchild to be born. This unfortunate incident will not define me, what it has done is to change the way I think about security. I now take steps to be safer and that is ok because I have learned from this. Tomorrow is another day.