A Mommy Story

We were robbed.

I can’t think of any clever ways to say it right now, and I really need to vent, so it’s going to come out exactly how I’m feeling: We were fucking robbed.

Aaron came home tonight after picking up Cordy to find our house ransacked. A rock had been thrown through our living room window (in the back of the house), and they had their pick of all sorts of goodies.

We’re still trying to figure out what was taken, but here’s the short list:

– Aaron’s laptop computer
– My BRAND-NEW-BOUGHT-FOR-BLOGHER laptop that arrived less than a week ago
– All of the peripherals for both laptops
– A laptop bag, to carry out the laptops, of course
– Our PlayStation 2, which also doubled as our DVD player
– All of the PS2 games we owned (don’t really care about those)
– Several pieces of jewelry

Before you say it, yes, I know we’re lucky that we weren’t home, and we’re all safe. We’re very blessed in that regard. But with our financial problems this month, this is the last thing I wanted to deal with. We have no money at the moment, and I get paid Friday, but it’s not much. Aaron’s first paycheck doesn’t come until Aug. 4. I have been eBaying things around the house to make a little extra money. (OK, and to just get them out of our house, too.)

My new laptop was going to be featured tomorrow in the blog. I was going to tell you all how wonderful it was, and how it will help me blog better than my clunky, ancient desktop computer (which the thieves didn’t take). It was faster, had awesome software, and was so lightweight. I was preparing it for Blogher – loading up music to listen to, pictures of Cordy to show everyone, and anything I might need for blogging the conference. It had a media card reader to make photo transfer from my digital camera easier. It cost a lot, but my mom was helping me out with it, since she knew I really wanted to blog at the conference. I haven’t even mailed the rebates in yet. But now I have a huge credit card bill for a product I don’t even have use of, and don’t get to take to Blogher.

The jewelry taken hasn’t been fully inventoried yet. We think they stole my engagement ring, which is a very sad thought. They also took my sapphire and pearl ring. My mother and I each received one during Christmas 2004 – Cordy’s first Christmas. The pearl is my mother’s and my birthstone, and the sapphire is Cordy’s and my grandmother’s birthstone. Both rings had sentimental meaning to me, far beyond their costs.

Aaron’s laptop had a lot of files that will be difficult to replace. Including the completed novel he wrote last year (we do still have one paper copy), and the novel he was working on recently.

I can’t stop crying this evening. I feel so angry, but I also feel naked and vulnerable. These thieves not only took away expensive stuff, but they took away any feelings of security I had. I don’t feel safe in my own house now. The window is being replaced as we speak, but I don’t know if I’ll even be able to sleep tonight. I’m too scared they will come back.

It is just stuff. It can be replaced, and we do have insurance. But we also have a large deductible that we will have to get past first. Which means even if it is all replaced, we’ll still be at least $1000 behind where we currently are, which is still behind where we need to be. $1000 – that’s a monthly mortgage payment. The credit cards are pretty high right now, so we can’t finance any replacement items on those.

I’m sick at the thought of some asshole breaking into our house and going through our stuff. They were in all of the rooms of our house. They even went into Cordy’s room and knocked books off her bookshelf and went through all of her things. Who the hell robs from a baby? I feel so weirded out that this person or these people went though all of our things. They went through my nightstand, with all of my personal belongings. They went through my desk, with receipts and all sorts of materials to steal personal identity information from. It’s possible they stole a credit card, too. I’m still looking for it.

I nearly decided that I wasn’t going to Blogher. Our house is in shambles, our life on hold while we try to figure out what’s missing and what these people have taken from our lives. I’m terrified of leaving Aaron and Cordy in the house, afraid these delinquents will come back and hurt them. How can I party now? But the flight was paid for months ago, and I know I can’t let the thieves take away dreams I’ve had of meeting everyone as well.

So I will still be going to Blogher. But I will have no laptop with me to blog the experience. And I’ll be calling home more often than I had planned, to make sure everyone is alright.

Damn, damn, damn. This just isn’t how it was supposed to work out. And I can’t stop crying.

Update: I just realized that our video camera is gone as well. Along with all of the video we’ve shot of Cordy. I can deal with not having the video camera, but I wish they would have left me the tapes instead of the battery charger.