A usurper to the crown

I came home from my classes on Wednesday, Mar. 25, to see my dog running from the front porch to the side of the house where she was trying to get into the back yard. I never leave my dog outside when I leave the house, so I knew immediately that someone had broken in. The front door was open and on the entry-way floor there was a pile of lunch meat that the burglar had used to lure my dog outside.

On my way through the house (which was probably a stupid thing to do) to get the phone to call the police, I saw they'd gained entrance to the house by kicking in the back door. They'd had to jump a padlocked fence to do it. Ironically, it was totally unnecessary to kick the door in because if they'd broken only one pane of glass they could have reached in to unlock the door.

The police told me to wait outside so I leashed my dog and put her in the car and stood outside until they arrived. They went through the house to secure it before calling me in to ask me what was missing. One officer filled out the report, one questioned neighbors and one stayed with me as I tried to figure out what they'd taken. My desktop computer was pulled out and some of the cables were unhooked but the only piece they took was the monitor. Several other things were moved from where I kept them and stacked up, I assume they were going to be taken. After it was all said and done, we found out one of my neighbors must have scared them off before they could take all they'd planned to take. Dresser drawers were open and clothing was strewn about my bedroom. They found and took the pouch of my grandmother's costume jewelry I received as a keepsake when my grandma died. It had no real value except sentimental but out of everything they got away with, that's what bothers me the most because it can't be replaced.
Mainly, they took electronics and replacement value is probably around $2,200. I am glad I have renter's insurance but they sure do make you jump through hoops to make a claim.

When you don't have a lot, $2,200 is a lot. Quite honestly, a robbery in this neighborhood is not a surprise. I moved here last summer while in the process of ending a very long marriage. It was sort of a mid-way point between my daughter in Weatherford and the school I am attending.
You do what you gotta do to get through and with the available resources at hand. It's not a house like I was used to living in nor does it resemble any kind of neighborhood I've ever lived in, but it's what I could afford. I don't like it here and I resent like hell the reasons that put me here.

The police didn't take any finger prints. In a neighborhood like this they probably don't. I'm sure it's an everyday occurrence and they don't have the man power to try to run down every perpetrator. I'm equally as sure that if this had happened in a better neighborhood, such as the neighborhood I used to live in, more care would have been taken. Two neighbors saw a car back into my drive-way. One of them was able to give a half-assed description of the car and one suspect, but she didn't get a license plate number. Neither one called the police.

Oddly enough, I wasn't scared at first. I had too much adrenaline coursing through my veins and I may have been in shock. I didn't leave the house for 3 days while I was waiting on the landlord to replace the back door. During those 3 days I became afraid to leave, not because of my "things" but because I worried they'd come back to finish the job and this time they'd hurt my dog. The events of the last year and a half have changed my life so drastically. I have such rage. Rage at the person who went through my house, touching my things, violating my space, and rage at my ex-husband's cheating ass for putting me in this position in the first place. Seriously, how much can a person take before they break?

Apparently, a lot. I am stronger than I thought, but bloody hell, I don't want to be tried anymore.

At least my dog is okay, traumatized but okay.