Why use a chimney when you can go through a window?

I suppose that when St Nick could not find a chimney today he decided to use the window on our front porch to gain access to our home. Sometime between 10 am and 4 pm today St Nick came for a visit. I know that it had to be St Nick or one of his elves because anyone else other than Santa and his reindeer would have either left presents or eaten all the milk and cookies that they could find. But wait, it occurs to me that it is a little bit too early for a visit from our hefty friend, isnt it ? Maybe the elves were astounded that our children had not written their annual letter to Kris Kringle and wondered if it was possible that we just had all the toys and goodies that any normal 10 and 13 year old could ever want and decided to come take inventory for themselves. Whomever it was came in through the front window on the porch and exited out the back door onto the back porch. Before they left they misjudged how much weight the antique table sitting by the front window could withstand and therefore managed to splinter one of the legs. On a positive note this table was passed down to Katy by her grandmother and has survived the last 16+ years without being damaged. On a negative note that track record came to a horrible end today. Nevertheless I think we can fix it with some wood glue and a vise to hold it together while it dries.

We have lived in this particular domicile now for almost 5 years. Up until this point I had not really worried about unwelcomed visitors crawling through my front window. I guess that you could say that I had gotten somewhat complacent about security issues around the house. No, I do not leave the doors hanging wide open and I do lock them when we leave. However, I did fail to put a piece of wood between the window and window pane to keep someone from sliding the window open and hopping in. On occasion my children have either forgotten or lost their house key and were able to use that window to gain entry to our house thus not having to stay out on the porch for hours on end waiting for one of the parental units to show up with shiny house keys. I guess those days are over because we are no longer in Kansas. I am thankful that our redneck security alarm was alive and breathing because that might be the reason that the surprise visitors left without stealing anything. Our four year old lab , Angel, probably heard the person or persons breaking the antique table and came running out of Kristina's room barking her furry head off which probably scared our visitors out the back door. GOOD dog!!! This time the redneck alarm system saved our toys. Next time I might not be so lucky. Now there is a nice thick wooden stick between the window and the window pane keeping the honest folks outside wondering if they will attract any attention by busting out the glass. Crime is a crime of opportunity and I should know this after 13 years of law enforcement and security experience under my belt. Open window with no lock gets the attention of someone snooping and they decide to pay a visit to see what kind of goodies are within.

In the first couple of years that we lived here at the bottom of the hill , past the old oak tree and end of state maintenance sign we had two surveillance cameras and a security alarm. When we moved to Simpsonville we had it shipped to us by the security installer who managed to break most of the equipment during the uninstallation or shipping or both. So, when we moved back in 9 months later we did not have the security system to put back in nor did we have the money to have another one put in therefore we have been living without one. Today was a glaring reminder to me of WHY it is good to have a security alarm in place that way when someone opens a window, breaks glass or otherwise trespasses on your property without your bidding they set off an ugly sounding siren and the police or summoned to check on your property. When a thief sees that you are adequately protected they usually pick a easier target to prey upon. I guess today we looked like a Thanksgiving Turkey begging to be violated. That is how you feel when you know someone has been in your home uninvited. You feel violated.

On the bright side, no one was home, the kids were at school and Katy was at work. I would have hated it if one of them would have surprised this person or persons and wound up getting hurt. What would I have done then?? I would have been very regretful for not thinking to block the easiest entrance to our home other than the front and back door.