Friday, September 4, 2009

Night watch

My husband moves to night shift tonight. Full-on, 6 pm til 6 am overnights. And I am full of anxiety and fear over it.

I do not want to be at home alone. I am scared. No, make that terrified.

Let me explain why.

I didn't blog about it, but there was a night back in May of this year when a man tried to break into our house at three in the morning.

We were home, asleep. Our dogs woke suddenly and ran to the foot of our bed, barking wildly. We quieted them, then there was another sound. We weren't sure what it was. The dogs went crazy again. We got them calmed down again. Then there was another noise that sounded like someone walking on the wood laminate floor in our living room. "Okay," I whispered, "That sounds like footsteps."

Dave got out of bed and let the dogs down. They charged out of the room, growling and barking. But it was as if there was an invisible perimeter on the living room rug that they would not pass. They absolutely would NOT go any further. Dave picked up his flashlight and shone it around the living room. He would later tell me that someone else flashed a different colored flashlight on our dogs. He hurriedly came back in the bedroom. I was still sitting on our bed. "Call 911," my husband hissed. "Someone's here. I don't know if they're inside or outside, but someone's here."

"What?", I whimpered. "Brooklyn...Brooklyn...." Her bedroom is on the opposite side of the house. "Call 911. Now," Dave growled.

Dave grabbed his shotgun and went to the edge of the living room. He cocked it and roared, "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!"

My trembling fingers fumbled with the cell phone. First I dialed 811. Then 911. The dispatcher answered and asked what my emergency was. I told him my full address and that someone was either trying to break into our house or was already in our house. I was practically hyperventilating as I told him, "My baby...I can't get to her...she's on the other side of the house...my husband's a cop....he's trying to clear the house....I can't get to my baby....my baby...."
Then the dispatcher asked me if I was calling from within the city limits of the major city about 10 miles away from us. UM, NO. I GAVE YOU MY FULL ADDRESS, INCLUDING TOWN, WHEN I CALLED!!!! "Then you need their police department, ma'am. Let me transfer you." AND HE PUT ME ON HOLD!!!

So by then I was definitely hyperventilating and shaking harder than I probably ever have and I had to relay the whole situation to the dispatcher in my actual town. And I could no longer hear Dave....I could occasionally hear a door or see flashing lights and I had no idea what was going on, I just needed to get to my Baby Bear so, so bad.

I think once I was on the phone with the proper dispatcher for all of three minutes before the police arrived at our house. But....oh my God, you want to talk about time creeping by. I slumped against our closet door. "Oh my God...please make them hurry...please, please, my baby, my little baby girl, please, I can't get to her, please, I have to get to her, please, please make them hurry, oh my God, I'm so scared...."

As it turned out, no one had gotten inside of our house. They had been in our backyard, they had come through our back gate. There were footprints in the mud leading up to the window where Dave had seen the flashlight shining in.

And that was that. The police couldn't find him. A man was arrested breaking into houses in a neighboring town with a similar M.O. a few days later. Maybe it was him. Maybe not.

Brooklyn never woke up once through the whole ordeal. Not even after the police left, when I collapsed next to her crib, crying.

And THAT is why I do not want to be home alone at night. I can't do this. What am I supposed to do if something like this happens again and my husband isn't home? I am absolutely terrified of not being able to protect my baby girl.

So. Do I take a sleeping bag into her room and sleep on her floor? My alarm will wake her up when I have to get up for work. Dave won't let me move her crib into our room. I have thought about putting her Tucker sling/wedge that she sleeps on onto our bed next to me so that she can sleep there, but Dave would have to move her and the whole apparatus when he gets home at 6 or 6:30 a.m., and I'm sure it would wake Brooklyn. I hate to shake up her sleep routine in any way whatsoever when she has just started sleeping so well the past few months, but I am just so afraid that I don't know what to do. The worry and fear are absolutely suffocating me this week. I am petrified of tonight. Ideas??????

6 comments:

Cibele said...

I was holding my breath reading your post. OMG, I can only imagine. I will praying that you and little baby girl can be safe at home while your husband works. HUGS

MrsSpock said...

Whoa- scary!!! I had to call 911 once when I was a caseworker- a drug dealer broke in through the window when I was meeting with a client, picked him up, shoved him against the wall, and threatened to kill him. I ran out, and he was right behind me. I was sure he was going to kill me in the street, but he slunk around the building. I called 911- and they freakin' transferred me. Oy.

Is an alarm system within your powers?

Unknown said...

I WILL BE PRAYING. I DONT KNOW IF I COULD HANDLE IT. I ALREADY DONT SLEEP WELL BECAUSE OF SOMEONE TAKING MY KIDS. THAT IS WHY YOU ARE GETTING THIS AT 12:30AM. LOL BUT ANYHOW. WILL THE DOG SLEEP WITH HER? OUR DOG WILL SLEEP WITH MY 2 KIDS NOW. SHE LAYS EITHER IN THE ROOM OR AT THE END OF THE STEPS. WE ARE DOWN STAIRS. I KNOW I HELD MY BREATH READING THIS..THAT IS A FEAR I HAVE. I AM SO SORRY THAT HAS HAPPEND.

Carrie27 said...

Wow, that is extremely scary. Do you have an alarm system on your house? That truly gives me comfort at night (as much as you can get when you are home alone).

I wouldn't move her, if anything I would maybe move to the closest room for a while. Is your living room close by?

Liz said...

I remember you telling us about that back when it happened. Terrifying. I'll email ya w/ what I do when Larry's gone overnight.

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

Gosh how frightening .
I can relate.Last year I was scared one night when home alone .
I thought I heard something, I called police and they came with the sniffer dogs at 4am but they didn't find anything.
I would get a decent fold/roll up mattress or similar and sleep in her room.I wouldn't sleep otherwise for the worry.
There is nothing you can do to stop someone entering if they tried (not to scare you) but at least you would be with Brooklyn and perhaps get some sleep.
The fear is real and valid ...prayers alone can't stop the fear.

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