Unsafe in Your Own Home

If you are like me, you consider your home as your sanctuary, a place you can go and block out all of the world’s nastiness, renew yourself, and be at peace.  This is especially true if you live alone.  Everything is in its place.  You have a certain comfort.  You don’t realize how much that peace and comfort is fleeting, until someone comes and destroys it.

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon returning from a delightful brunch, I returned home to my place of peace and comfort.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, it was the scene of a crime.  Some poor excuse of a person broke into my home in the middle of the afternoon and stole what he could carry: a laptop and some small electronics.  It took me awhile to figure out as nothing was disturbed, and nothing seemed out of place.  But after a fruitless hour looking for my laptop, it hit me.

I was robbed! 

As I recounted the items that were missing to the police officer, I began to think about the intangible items lost that would never be reflected in the police report: my digitized life over the last decade, my world-renowned (in my own mind) iPod music collection, family pictures, and most importantly …a sense of safety in my own home.

The idea that someone had been all through my home and my personal possessions is beyond unsettling.  The intruder took meticulous care as he went through my dressers and drawers looking for whatever portable riches he could find.   He also took with him the refreshing tranquility I feel at home, the refuge I’ve created in the middle of any storm, and the sense of calm that usually greets me every evening as I walk in the door.  The home that I created, – violated for a quick fix or a couple hundred dollars at a pawn shop.

Yes, the economy is bad.  Unemployment is sky high, people are under incredible pressure to make ends meet, and times are desperate.  But that doesn’t excuse piss poor behavior.  The worst is, it was likely someone in the neighborhood.  So the sense of trust of my neighbors is wandering, a feeling I do not enjoy. 

The stolen items will be easy to replace, but the sense of home, security, and peace will take much longer to recapture.

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