Another stroke of bad luck - our little farmhouse was broken into during the day today while my husband and I were at work. We came in this evening and the thief or thieves had thrown a t-post through the back door double pane glass and came in. They ransacked the house and made a mess - didn't break anything - guess I should be thankful for that. They took our new flat panel TV, my brandnew $1200 laptop, AND, get this - my antique dishes that were my mother's and my grandmother's. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT! I have cried a river of tears over my dishes. The other things can be replaced easily, but the sentiment I feel about losing my dishes is overwhelming. They took a cordless drill, some walkie talkies, and several little antique occasional dishes, candy dishes, handpainted plates. They also took an old vintage green leather covered jewelry box full of vintage jewelry - mostly costume, but still it had some little 14k gold earrings with garnets and other semi-precious stones, some silver and opals and lots of 60's style jewelry. This person knew about antiques I guess. Wierdest thing I ever heard of. Even the sheriff's deputy said it was wierd. I'm wondering if it was a woman or women. I'm going to check around at some of the antique places etc., and see if any of my dishes turn up. The sheriff's dept. said they check regularly with the pawn shops for the electronics, etc.
My husband and I had talked about installing a security system in the house as late as last week, and I was all set to call and get estimates next week. You can bet your bippy I will be doing that. Is this what I'm going to be dealing with out here in the country? Do I feel so violated right now because this has never happened to me or us in my lifetime? Have I been that sheltered? Has this happened to any of you? I'm ANGRY, I'm frustrated, I'm hurt, and even a little scared. I should be glad that we were not home, or that this wasn't a violent crime. I should be glad that they didn't tear up the whole house or take any more than they did. Of course, with the exception of a few items, most everything is second hand. I imagine now that I will take anything of value back to my home and not leave it there. What I worry about now, is that they've cased our farmhouse and KNOW what we have and might be back!
But THAT was what my farmhouse was all about! Having all my OLD stuff there and all the remnants of long ago around me, my memories of my grandmothers & great grandmother, my mom, the quilts, the dishes, the pictures, the old furniture, all that goes with that. I'm so upset - my husband and I have had this dream, this vision, of what we're going to do with our farm, how we're going to live there, have horses and cows, have a big garden, maybe build a bigger more permanent home and keep the cottage for a guest house or an art studio, have a neat place for the grandkids to come and play and ride horses, etc. We have worked our tails off on this house for the last YEAR, and Tonight I just feel like someone popped our balloon, burst our bubble. I feel violated that someone came into my house and went through all my stuff, even emptied my dresser where my clothes are, and my closets, and my personal items.
My husband is my rock. He reminded me about "storing up treasures on earth where thieves break in and steal". I could care less about the TV and computer treasures - I just want my treasured dishes back. He said tomorrow will look brighter, and we may can still have our dream. We'll just have to think about it a little more. But you know, crime is all around us I guess. ANd I suppose that anytime you live out in the country, you are susceptible to things like this. Doesn't make me feel any better tho... My daughter's scared to stay home alone now. Guess we'll be beefing up security at our house, too. We've gotten too comfortable. Nothing's ever happened in our neighborhood in the 20 years we've been there. Our HOME home is close to the country but in a cul de sac and there was never any thru traffic. We could turn the kids loose and they would come home at lunch time and supper time.
What a week. It's definitely been one big pity party for me. And I'm not through grieving over my dishes and my feeling of loss yet. Maybe tomorrow will be better. I hope so.
