7 Quick Takes Friday, #12

I understand that Quick Takes are supposed to be random and unrelated, but right now I have one thing hogging my thoughts so most of these will be related. I'm such a rule breaker.

1. Justin scared away a burglar last night. OK, that makes it sound worse than it was. Here's what happened.

He had just come to bed a little before midnight and luckily, our bedroom window was cracked open for the nice night air. I was zonked, so I didn't hear the noises outside the window of someone trying to break into our shed. Justin did, and crept closer to have a look. When he saw a man in a long trench coat working on the shed door, he yelled at the man who took off running down the middle of the street. Justin went out to see where he'd gone, and yelled some more things at him.

We called the police, and that was the end. Except we could barely sleep for the rest of the night. It was lovely.

2. When my brother and I were growing up, we had the 'Mortal Kombat' video game. Do you remember that? It was awful. Bloody and violent, and we loved it. Well, he loved it, and I was drawn to it like a train wreck, watching while he and his friends played the game for hours. I couldn't actually play it; I got too scared and nervous, so I was useless. There were some big buff ninjas on the game with unrealistically huge muscles and threatening voices to match. Those voices terrified me.

I do have a point here. And it is this: Last night when Justin yelled at the would-be burglar, his voice sounded just like a Mortal Kombat ninja. He yelled GET OUTTA HERE!! with such authority and strength that if I were that burglar, I would have lost all bowel and bladder control while escaping for fear of my life.

And that's the voice that woke me out of a peaceful slumber. I was cautiously impressed - after I recovered from the fear, I mean. My husband is quiet, calm, and reasonable. He is peaceful, thoughtful, and loving. But when pushed? He is a muscled Mortal Kombat ninja, protecting his family.

Or, erm, protecting his lawn mower.

3. This wasn't that big of a deal, in my mind. I was frightened last night, but in the dark of night everything seems worse.

What worries me though, is that the almost-thief had probably been keeping an eye on us. He waited about 20 minutes after all the lights were out, presumably giving us enough time to fall asleep. He didn't know that Justin prays in the dark living room for quite a while before coming to bed. It seems likely that our actions were being monitored.

Also, we live on a dead end and our shed is not visible to anyone unless they walk up behind our house to look for it. It's really dark back there, with no street lights or house lights. This makes me think that this thief had scoped out the place in daylight, and planned what he wanted to do.

Was he here when I was home alone with the girls? Did he know when we usually go to bed? I have a tendency to be melodramatic about things like this, but now I don't feel quite so safe in my own house.

4. This whole episode has caused me to reflect on the nature of our society. We sit in our relatively unprotected houses, with our loved ones and belongings sitting out in the open. Anyone who really wants to could disrupt our lives, taking what they desire, hurting those in their way, and leaving us to sort out the mess. It's each individual human's decision to respect boundaries, and that's all we have to rely on. Law enforcement is around, but only after the fact. It's frightening.

5. Which leads me to my next point. I love my husband. I love that I feel safe with him. I love that he was ready to guard us, fierce in his protection.

6. Now for the random things. It's been raining here almost all week, making me fear for my fledgling garden. Thank goodness it's in a raised bed, or I think everything would have rotted by now from not being able to drain the water away. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a few hours of sunshine over the weekend.

7. I would love your thoughts on a post I wrote earlier this week on how to talk to your kids about death. Any experience you have had will be helpful, so if you get a minute, please leave a comment. I'm all ears.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary. Have a Ninja-Free weekend!