A Mommy Story

Now that I’ve calmed down a little (still trying to figure out how to deal with the $1000 deductible for our homeowners insurance, and worrying that they won’t give us the full value of each item), I can reflect on what has happened in the past 24 hours.

First, it’s quite possible our thieves are reading this blog. After all, my blog is the first bookmark in my browser. If you are reading this – we have your blood, dumbass, and the police are working on extracting DNA to catch you. Next time you want to rob someone, pick someone with more money who won’t miss their stuff as much. We’re too poor to simply let it go.

Next, it’s interesting to see what was left behind. Clearly they only left with what they could carry, which is why my hulking desktop computer is still here. But for once I can finally claim that being a slob has its benefits. Thanks to our incredibly messy house (which was particularly messy this week – after all, we didn’t realize we’d be having guests over to steal our stuff), they missed some valuable items.

The gorgeous necklace from Blend Creations I got for my birthday? Buried under a pile of stuffed animals in my nightstand drawer, that they rummaged through but didn’t get past the stuffed animals. The digital camera? Sitting right out in the open on our table, although flanked on all sides by clothing, papers, and other clutter, making it more obscure. My iPod? Sitting on the tray table in plain sight, right next to the window they broke to get in. But also surrounded by clutter, and so easily missed. So to all of my family, who criticize the mess we call our house, I say: See? Clutter can be a good thing! And now I’m less inclined to ever clean it up!

I also learned that either they were interrupted in their looting spree, or to thieves we have lousy taste in movies. Our DVDs are on a set of shelves, and we keep them in order. But the thieves had taken them off the shelves, and had sorted through them, but didn’t take a single one! Is our taste that bad? Surely if you’d just give Strictly Ballroom or The Princess Bride a chance, you might like them!

One of the scariest moments was when I walked in the door and wondered where the cats were. Luckily, we found all three, although Kit, who is usually the most outgoing of the three, was scared out of his fur. He’s still not quite back to normal yet.

Cordy was less than pleased with the turn of events, either. She was kept from her normal evening routine, and was. not. happy. You know, in the screaming, crying, thrashing kind of way. She wasn’t allowed to touch anything until the police dusted for fingerprints, she wasn’t allowed on the carpet due to all of the broken glass, and thanks to cables being ripped out in a hurry, the TV was not available. So no Oobi, and no playtime. Although she was perceptive to notice the hole in the window: “Owtsiiide!” “Yes, Cordy, there is now a hole to the outside.”

This has also not been a good week for other relatives as well. On Saturday, Aaron’s younger brother came home from work late at night, and was then robbed at gunpoint as he got out of his car. Not only did they steal his money, they tied him up and took him hostage in his own car for several hours. He had no cash on him, so they took him to the ATM to get money (they could only get $200 a day at the ATM), and then drove around until it was after midnight to get another $200. The things they said to him were simply surreal. He has a blog, but I can’t link to the entry because it’s protected, but trust me, it was a scary experience. I’m so glad he wasn’t hurt.

I called our insurance this morning, who took down my name and address (shouldn’t they already have that?) and said someone would get back to me in the next 24 hours. Which is the same thing they after-hours person said to Aaron last night. It’s early, but I’m already beginning to think our insurance doesn’t give a damn about helping us out.

The window is sort-of replaced. It was a double pane window, so they’ve ordered the window and put in a single pane for now. $320 for that bit of damage. Aaron’s parents came over last night and helped us clean up some of the glass, as well as helped occupy Cordy. I’m so thankful they were able to come help us.

Oh, and in cleaning up the glass we found what they used to break the window:

Yeah, you’d better believe that we’re keeping this rock. After all, it’s a damn expensive rock. Might even give it a special place of (dis)honor on the bookshelf.

Thank you all for your support. I love blogging for the community it provides, and you’ve all been a big emotional support for me. I’ve had my car broken into more than once, and while it was a pain, it wasn’t that big of a deal. This, on the other hand, has sent me into an emotional tailspin, and I’m still trying to come to terms with it all. So thank you for the kind comments you’ve left. You have no idea how much it means to me.