Broken in

This past Friday started out as usual. We were going to have a playdate at home that morning, actually. But some of the other kids were sick, so we ended up canceling the playdate. Instead we dropped off some goodies at a few friends' house for our Random Act of Kindness of the day. When we were done, it was still early, so I decided to take the kids to COSI, the science center. On my way over, I realized I had left my phone at home. I considered going home to get it since we weren't very far, but then decided against it. Who would call anyway? Probably my mom, and I could call her back later.
We had left the house at about 9:15 AM that morning and came back at 12:45 PM. As soon as I walked in the door, I heard my phone ringing. I picked it up and a woman from our security system said she was calling to check up on us because the alarm had gone off. I was extremely confused because I had disarmed it from the car and I was not hearing it going off at that moment. Then I noticed the light on in the hallway. I was sure I had turned it off. I asked her when the alarm had gone off and she said 9:56 AM. I walked into the living room, where everything looked normal. Then I walked up the stairs and saw every bedroom door, bathroom door, and closet door open. That's when I started panicking... It didn't look like anything was missing, so what were they looking for, and had they found it? Then she told me that since they couldn't get a hold of me, they had sent the police. She wasn't sure if the police had come into the house, but she would get a hold of them and have them talk to me. At that point, I was shaking... When I came back to the main floor, I noticed a note on the island in the kitchen. It said that the police had come into the house, had noticed a forced entry (through the basement window), and had searched the house. Still at that point, I didn't know if the robbers had searched the whole house, or if the police had. A few minutes later, a police officer arrived and went through what he had discovered.
A few minutes before 10 AM, someone kicked the basement window. It didn't break the glass, but it broke the frame and latch. The robber(s) went in, feet first, landed on a box of Christmas decorations, saw nothing worth stealing, went up the stairs, opened the basement door, walked in front of the motion detector that is right next to the basement door, set it off at 9:56 AM, freaked out, ran to the front door, unlocked it, and ran out at 9:56 AM. According to the security lady, there was about 10 seconds between the time the alarm went off the time the front door was opened. So the robber(s) clearly didn't have time to go anywhere else in the house. All the doors were opened by the police, except the front door (well, it wasn't actually open when the police got there, but it was unlocked).
At that point, I felt unsafe, violated, and like I wouldn't be able to trust anyone ever again. How could anyone do this? How desperate could they be? They must have been watching me to know when I left the house. Heck, maybe they had even been watching me for a while, knowing that I always leave the house between 9:00 and 9:30 AM and that I don't come home until 11:00 or 11:30, at the earliest.
Now there are a million questions on my mind. Why did they pick our house? We have 3 young children, so it seems obvious to me that we don't own anything worth stealing (the kids would have broken these things by now). And for those wondering, our Christmas presents were not under the tree (hello, we have children!?!?!). But most importantly, will they come back? They know now that we have an alarm system, and that we use it (but there were signs about us having an alarm system in our yard). Also, they know now where the motion detertor is, so will they try to find a way around it? Do they still wonder what else is in the house, or have they realized that there really is nothing worth stealing?
Two things are certain; One, I am not leaving this house until the window gets fixed. Leaving the house right now would be like an invitation for anyone to help themselves to whatever is in the basement. I don't care about anything that is down there, actually, but I just don't want them in my house. Period. And Two, we are upgrading our security system. That means, a door sensor on the basement door, more motion sensors, and glass blocks instead of cheap windows that can be kicked open. Also, a gun. That one actually makes me a little nervous. If I were to use it, I'd have to be fast. I'd also have to not be nervous and to not second-guess myself. Shoot. Kill. It's the only way to make sure they don't ever come back, to steal or for revenge.
Ahhhh, let me tell you that the night following this, I.did.not.sleep.at.all. Every little sound made me nervous. The neighbors' dogs barking, especially. At this point, I am a wreck. I am scared, paranoid, and probably a little crazy. I'm constantly looking out the window, staring down my neighbors, and turning lights on and off to let people (anyone, really) know that we're home. Not that it would keep certain thiefs from breaking in, but maybe it will discourage them a little. I obvisouly can't stay home forever, but at least until this window thing gets taken care of.
That's another question I had on my mind, actually. Who did this? A neighbor? A worker building one of these houses across the street? The cable guy who installed our box last week? It could be anyone, but most likely not a pro. I mean, we don't live in a super nice neighborhood - pros only steal from the wealthiest. Right?
On a sidenote, when the police officers came, they heard my phone ringing and knew I had left it home, so they called some random people (who didn't pick up), then called my dad. Now I give it up to my dad for staying calm and collected. Because when they called him, from my phone, they first questioned him to make sure he was related to me, then they asked how they could get a hold of me or my husband. There was no way. I didn't have my phone with me, my dad didn't know where I was, and looking for Billy at a hospital like OSU is not an easy thing (unless you know his pager number, which I do, but no one else does). Anyway, there is another thing that makes me uneasy, and it's the fact that the robber(s) broke into the house at 9:56 AM, but the calls weren't made until 10:24. That's nearly 1/2 hour. Now let's say that they searched the house before making the calls, which probably took them less than 10 minutes. There is still a 20 minutes gap there, give-or-take. If the robber(s) are planning on coming back, and if they watched how long it took the police to come, they now know that they have 20 minutes to get stuff from the house to their van or car or whatever they came with.
To be perfectly honest, I'm not so worried about our stuff. That's all it is, really, just stuff. It's replaceable and materialistic. I don't care. I just don't want to live in fear. And I don't want someone to be in my house when I'm not there. Someone with dishonest intentions. But most importantly, I don't want to be home when they break in. I now have something to protect us with, but I really don't want to use it. I don't. I could easily be turned against me and my children. I'm just a skinny 5 ft 5 girl. Who's going to be scared of me, gun or no gun?
It's hard, going back to living the way we used to. I actually don't even know how to do that. It'll take a while before I feel safe again. The alarm system is now on whether we're home or not, and still I don't feel 100% safe. It'll take time to heal, that's all...
I feel like this blog post is a ramble of facts, guesses, thoughts, and feelings, kinda all over the place. Oh, well. It's for history and memories.
The evidence:

The police put the window back in place so they didn't leave it wide open. But that is the window the robber(s) broke in through. These guys couldn't have been very big, in my opinion. On the left, the storage box they landed on. The lid is broken, but nothing inside the box is broken.