Amid all the fun and excitement of preparing my manuscript for publication something beyond the realm of my understanding, the unbelievable happened. Leading up to this event found me busy preparing for publishing. The real work and the real fun had begun, ergo with my mind occupied with websites, video trailers and book-jackets, it happened, the BREAK- IN.
At two in the afternoon on Tuesday, January fifth, my husband, Bill and I went to the grocery store. We set our ADT security alarm, locked the house and left. We had just walked into the store when my cell phone rang. A woman identified herself as an ADT operator and informed me that our alarm was going off. We got back to the condo at 2:14 pm. followed by a lady police officer two minutes later.
Bill unlocked the door, and turned off the alarm. The officer walked through the condo, checked every room, nothing was out of order, there wasn’t a clue that anyone had been in our house. She double checked and came to the conclusion that the high winds we had that day had jarred a window and caused the alarm to off. We were happy and relieved that it was a false alarm.
Wednesday was a typical day, and Thursday started out the same until I got dressed to go out for an appointment. I went to get my rings from my jewelry box, when I pulled out the drawer it was empty. A wide gold wedding band with solitaire that I wore daily was gone, as were every gold ring with diamonds or precious stones. Other drawers were the same, earrings, pendants, gold chains, watches, and bracelets, all gone.
Many feelings and emotions coursed through my body and mind. First of all, sadness and tears over the sentimental pieces of jewelry and the memories held in my heart over each one. A pinky ring with my name, charms my husband bought for me when our children were born, an antique bracelet that had belonged to my great-great grandmother, these pieces, all irreplaceable.
Second and third emotions ranged from rage to unbelief. How did anyone have the nerve to open a locked door secured by an alarm, knowing it would warrant the police. With the alarm going off, the silent alarm sending signals to the ADT office, this person or persons did the unthinkable, unlocked the front door, and in less than ten minutes walked straight to the master bedroom, to the jewel case, and took what they wanted. The thief left the way he/she entered, locked the door and was nowhere to be seen by the time the police, or my husband and I got back to the house. What took nearly fifty years to acquire, was all gone in ten minutes.
3 responses to “BREAK-IN (Gone in Ten Minutes)”
Reading this I felt just sick for you. Even if I “think” I have lost a piece of jewelry it ruins my day until I find it…..normally I have just put it in another spot other than the one I always use..which is very rare so gives my heart a start each time.
Always bothers me that people take from the hard working, honest people without a blink. They obviously do not care about the sentimental value, just the dollar amount it will bring them to do MORE bad things !!Nerve, Oh yeah they have it. Seems that a locked door and even a security system hardly slows them down at all. It just keeps the good people out (hence people locking themselves out of their house by mistake, or a realtor locking herself and a client out on a back patio for over 2 hours 🙁 True story.
I know these people will pay for all their bad deeds, but it does not help the people that have lost things that they have worked hard for, and most of all the sentimental things that someone special has given them, etc.
Take Care Sonne and know that my heart goes out to you.
Love, Janet
That was said so much better than I could have. No one really knows how traumatizing and invasive a theft is until it happens. I would love to do a ” stake out” and catch them. So sorry this happened to you
Love,
Jeralyn
Sorry for your loss, Sonne. I know you must feel all those emotions you mentioned–a real compromise of your sense of well being.
Maybe it will also become a way to heal, passing through those stages of grief until you can rise above it again!