Welcome to city living…I think. And actually I can’t blame it on being in the city because stuff like this happened up North where I used to live. I just had to remind myself that the city provides more opportunities for things like this to happen and yes I know that sounds pretty prejudiced but it’s true.

Here’s What I Woke Up To This Morning:

(Click Images for larger view)

The Story Behind the Pictures:

This morning I didn’t have to be at my friend B’s house to watch her daughter so Caleb and I got to sleep in until 7:45am. School down here doesn’t start until 9am (well 8:50 to be exact). Anyways Caleb offered to go start the car so it would warm up before we left to take him to school. He gets outside and then knocks on my office window. Of course it annoyed me because I was trying to finish up a quick little VA project. Talk about feeling bad when I go out there to see why he knocked on the window!

My car was ransacked last night. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. Nothing was stolen (including Caleb’s bike that was sitting in plain sight on the porch). And can I just ask what’s the point of going through someone’s stuff if you don’t want to take anything???? I guess it helps that I don’t have anything in my car worth stealing – I have no CD player, no CD’s, no money, no nothing. The only thing of any value in there was Caleb’s $99.00 ripstick (it’s like a skateboard) and they didn’t want that. I guess they just had fun rummaging through my glove compartment, under the seats, a Wal-Mart bag of garbage….and smoking. At least I think they smoked in there. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for why my car smells like cigarette smoke.

Am I freaked out? Just a little. And actually I don’t think freaked is the right word it’s more like creeped out. I mean I was up until a little after 3am so either it happened after I was in bed or while I was still up. I was in my office until a little after midnight and the office window is right by the back porch and where my car is parked so I know it was after I left the office that someone was in my car. I watched TV and read in the living room until after 3 when I hit the sack. I do remember hearing a noise but I hear noises every day and every night. The icemaker in the freezer makes lots of little quirky noises.

I’m most concerned with how Caleb handled the situation. He already has a lot of anxiety issues and this definitely didn’t help with them. I sent him to school and he said now I’m going to be worried about you all day and what if something happens to you mom? Poor Kid! I explained to him that nothing would happen during the day and that it was probably just some young kids with nothing better to do (which by the way the SAME EXACT thing happened to B’s cousin that lived here before me – they ransacked her car and took nothing!).

I have two options here – I can live in fear and constantly worry about every little thing wondering what’s next, when the person (or the people) is coming back if they are coming back and let fear control me. Or I can go on living as I normally would but keep it in the back of my mind to be more aware of my surroundings. I’m choosing the second option which for me is a huge thing! I have let fear control my life (for example living in Gaylord in my apartment I was so fearful of someone breaking in. Why I had that fear I have no idea but it controlled my life for a long time.) in so many different areas of my life for so much of my life that I’m tired. I’m not supposed to live in fear anyway. As a Christian I’m supposed to give it to God and not let fear consume me (of course easier said than done).

So anyways I’m not going to let this incident rule my life and consume my thoughts. Yes it happened, yes it creeped me out but there is no sense in dwelling upon it because that’s not going to change the fact that it happened.

I’m probably going to have a sky high electric bill from here on out because I’ve decided I’ll be leaving the outside porch light on every night.

I guess maybe that was my welcome ‘wagon’ welcoming me to the neighborhood! LOL