Broken & Entered

The title sounds like a porno doesn't it? All novelty aside approximantly two days ago at 4:00am someone attempted to break into our house. I am somewhat suspicious of people by nature and as such had been wanting a security system for our home for sometime. I am very glad and fortunate that I did something about it some time ago. It was this very fact that I believe kept a bad situation from being much much worse. It was 4:00am and my wife and I had gone to bed much earlier as anyone with work the next day does. Suddenly I sat up immediately in bed as I was aware house alarm was emitting its warning beeps before resounding in full force. As I sat up I was aware the muffled noise of metal being dropped against metal, but at the time I did not realize what I had heard. I sleep through the alarm clock in the morning with ease, the house alarm although quieter wakes me immediately. My first reaction was actually not neccessarily the brightest. My wife had went to bed with a terrible headache that night and my immediate concern was that the alarm would wake her so rushed out to silence it. As I was silencing it, it occurred to me that I probably should not as the alarm is sounding for a reason. Instictually I knew that the main and upper levels had not been compromised. As such I headed directly toward our basement door. I had left the lights on in the basement so I opened the door to take a look down the stairs. In that moment I realized my next folly and shut the door to return better "equipped" to handle a situation. By this time my wife had already woken I was aware by my demeanor that something was amiss. As I returned to the basement I understood the source of the loud metallic clang I had heard after the alarm. It was the sound of the metal grate that sits atop the well encompassing our window being dropped against it. After insuring that we were indeed alone and the house had not been compromised we were better able to analyze the details and determine what had happened. Our basement window had been opened about the width of a hand. As a note if all the windows and doors are not closed you can not arm the alarm system, as such the window had to be closed that night. What we peiced together was that someone slipped down into the well and picked both of the locks on the window. (Not as hard as it may sound for this type of window) Once the window was unlocked they proceeded to open it breaking the seal and activating the alarm. Being startled and afraid they pushed the metal grate back up and ran off letting it slam down. Interestingly enough after all was secured and the puzzle peiced together I fell right back asleep as though nothing had happened. It has taken a few days of reflection and consideration to instill some anxiety in me. I think that it is important to reflect on the situation and use it as a reminder and lesson. At the same time I believe that a person must be wary not to obsess to long on the "what ifs", lest fear consume them. Breaking into someones home evokes powerful emotions in people sometimes. I wonder if some of that is based on the same instinctual territorial drive in other mammals. I believe a large part of the real upset is because our homes are an accepted "Safe" place, and to have that idea questioned makes us feel more vunerable all around. I believe things happen for a reason. I also believe that we may never fully understand why. Perhaps it is this naive idea that gives me solice. Perhaps this break-in will cause me to make some change that will prevent or change the outcome of something far worse later on. Perhaps it is these events that "keep us on our toes" so that we only skin our knees instead of breaking our legs. Or maybe I'm full of crap :)