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Lives of Doctor Wives: Safety First!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Safety First!

So this past week, my hubby has pretty much been on call every other night meaning that my week was shot and that I spent many nights alone in bed. Many of us are at the point in our lives where our husbands are gone sometimes more than they are home it seems, and if you aren't there, you will be soon!

One of these nights, I had just gotten both boys in bed and headed back into the living room to finish tidying up and close down the computer when I heard a loud noise rustling out my front window. Both my dog Brinkley and I stopped and listened very intently on what was going on. It sounded like someone was messing with the car, was walking up the steps and then was on our front patio messing with something!!!

I quickly looked at the front door to make sure it was locked and looked around for something I could use to defend myself. How much damage do you think a Disney Mack Truck toy could do to a burglar? Well, I didn't want to find out, so I flipped on the porch light thinking that it might scare whatever it was away........well, much to my surprise, it was a HUGE skunk right in my front garden.....thank the Lord!

So that night, as I laid in bed, (a little rattled of course) I started thinking about what I would do if someone tried to break in my home. I thought well, Morgan is in this bedroom with me (we are still living in the nursery due to our master upstairs still being under construction), Grant is next door, and to exit to the nearest door you have to pass through the main hall and would be seen by the burglar....hmmmm. Then I remembered that since we had a very old, house none of our doors shut or lock, great(don't worry we are slowly remodeling everything). Then I remembered we finally had gotten the bathroom door to lock, SUCCESS! But then I remembered it has a tiny window that I couldn't get out of and neither Tom or I could get it open last week when it was nice outside. Great, now I'm locked in the bathroom with no way out!

I thought and thought about an escape route or even if I got out what I would do next. If I hid with the boys somewhere and called the police how long could I keep 2 rambunctious boys quiet after being yanked from their beds in the middle of the night. If I called Tom, there's no guarantee I would even be able to get a hold of him, as most the times I call he is busy with a delivery......well I finally fell asleep with these thoughts swirling through my head, thoughts that never had crossed my path while living in our town house in Tulsa surrounded by students I knew, or when living at my parent's house for the last 8 months (no one is going to mess with a 6'4" giant with numerous guns in his house, thanks Dad).

The next morning I chatted about it to Tom and then I thought of all you ladies and women all over the world who are home alone in the evening while their hubbies are off at work. What do they do, what would YOU do? Do you have a plan in place? Do you have protection? I would love to hear some ideas, what you have in place, or a great resource that comes to mind! Thanks for sharing!

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12 Comments:

Blogger Beth Hollenbeck said...

I have had the exact same thoughts, and a few similar experiences as you (with noises and such)! It sure is frightening and it is awful feeling helpless. We live in a new neighborhood, which is great, but it is somewhat secluded and 15 minutes from the hospital on 2-lane roads. We are sort of country bumpkins! I always worry that not only will I not be able to reach my husband, the time it would take him to get here would be forever and I don't have neighbors surrounding me as of yet. Plus, our address isn't on the map or GPS yet, so I worry about the authorities even being able to locate me. I also have two young children and we are both sleeping on the 2nd story, so getting out would be a major challenge.

Anyway...I appreciate your entry because I realize I DON'T have a good plan. EEK! We can't afford an alarm system and I really don't have anything to defend myself aside from a very loving 80 lb. yellow lab (who would just lick someone to death) and toys. Your story has awakened me to the reality that a plan does need to be in place. I am hoping other wives will comment and provide some ideas! We are home alone A LOT and with children to protect it seems so scary. Maybe with all of the thoughts and ideas we can all have a plan in place soon that makes us feel safe and comfortable!

September 13, 2009 at 5:40 PM  
Blogger Kim said...

I worry about this too especially lately as my husband has been doing nights. We currently live in an apartment so there is no security system but we do have two dogs. They probably wouldn't harm anyone (cocker spaniels) but they are VERY loud and my hope is that if it ever happened they would scare them away. Our plan is to get a security system when we move into a house.

September 13, 2009 at 9:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My plan is to hit the button on the alarm system on way to baby's room. Get him, hide with him in master closet and point weapon at door til police arrive. I also have 2 very loud dogs.
I haven't had to enact this plan since the baby came but it is a very real possibility right now. Always a good idea to have a plan!

Sarah

September 14, 2009 at 10:09 AM  
Blogger Melisa said...

What a great question, Lex! I had a nightmare about this the other night. I was able to get to my boys, but I couldn't get to my baby girl in time. It was awful.

This is one reason I hate living in such a tall house, the windows don't make good escape routes. And this house is so old, it doesn't even have closets to hide in.

Thankfully, I have very few nights that I spend all alone now. But that doesn't mean I haven't paid my dues to sleeping alone!

September 14, 2009 at 3:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We actually just had ADT install an alarm system in our house last week because my husband and I also share this concern. We have only had it for a few days now but I already feel a sense of security at night.

September 14, 2009 at 3:55 PM  
Blogger Christy said...

Two words: German Shepherd.

He's 7 years old and fiercely protective of our domicile. The Border Collie is very vocal too!

That being said, we still take precautions. We lock all doors/windows at night when we are sleeping and during the day when it's just me and my daughter.

As far as weapons, I hope my mag-lite works as a billy club. We don't even have a baseball bat!

September 14, 2009 at 6:42 PM  
Blogger AmberW said...

I am a single momma in a long distance relationship so I am constantly thinking of what I would do if something happened or someone tried to break into my house :(

I live in a corner house on the road and I had someone come and smash their hands against my window one night and then run away. I thought I was going to die I was so scared. I immediately ran to make sure all the windows and doors were locked, checked the kids and tried to fall back asleep!

I can't wait until I live in the same town as S so that I at least have some backup!

September 14, 2009 at 11:45 PM  
Blogger --Leann-- said...

my security is my yappy dog. she barks at everything. Including us. seriously, the idiot barks at us for about 60 seconds after we have come in the door and established that it is, indeed, us. If, during the night, she were to start barking I would immediately call 911.

However, her cage is in the main part of the house, and she wouldnt bark if there was noise in any of the bedrooms.

For that, I rely on our home security system.

I'm more nervous about a fire, and getting all of the living things out of my house and to safety.

September 15, 2009 at 1:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We have 2 dogs. I keep household spray next to my bed or pepper spray. I ALWAYS sleep with my cell phone next to my bed. If I wake up and I am not sure it is my husband I dial 911 and don't push send till I know it is him. Nothing has ever happened I am just super paranoid.

I vote you make a plan, never too late to have one!

September 15, 2009 at 9:44 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I have had a plan for a couple years. I've had a few false alarms (things crashing loudly in the basement). This winter I actually had to call 911. Someone called our house and was being stupid, but since my husband was not home I freaked out because the guy kept calling back. What sent me over the edge was that he started also calling my cell phone.
My plan includes a golf club in our bedroom closet, the second set of our car remote entry key that has the alarm on it. If you hit the car alarm, it will definitely mimic a house alarm to an intruder. It also helps to ask someone in an immediate driving distance if they can be called in the middle of the night if you do get scared. Then they are someone who can come over and check things out. (The police told me they were busy and were not sure they could make it over since it was just phone harassment).
We did find out the reason the guy had my cell was that we had put on our home answering machine outgoing message our phone number. Needless to say, we don't do that anymore.
Hope this helps, fear can send you over the edge, but having a plan really helps.

September 15, 2009 at 10:33 PM  
Blogger Rachel said...

I have had these same thoughts. Thankfully my husband no longer has to be on in-house call but he is frequently out of town at conferences or interviews. We have an alarm system in our apartment that I keep activated whenever he is gone. Plus, being a Texan, my husband is big on guns, which he taught me how to use in case of an emergency. We keep one on a very high shelf in our room that we can grab in a hurry, if needed. Personally, I'm not a fan of guns and the very thought of them make me nervous, but knowing that I can protect myself and child (if it came down to it) is comforting.

September 17, 2009 at 12:22 AM  
Anonymous Donna said...

It's funny that most women wait until something happens to think about this. Now that you posted this its time to think about your Personal Safety while home alone. The good thing is that a survey done on criminals, said that a dog is the one reason they leave a home. So Ladies if you have a dog you are better off.
Your so right to have a plan also its a great idea to have a girls night out and take a self defense class. We go to the gym but few of us think about Self Defense until it is to late.
Read more about the How Criminal Mind work http://www.guardyourselfnow.com/blog
Stay Safe & Secure

September 17, 2009 at 6:48 AM  

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