Monday, July 20, 2009

Don't mess with Mama

I wrote this post a year ago about our hiding-out tendencies when the doorbell rings.

Not much has changed, except that Savannah now knows the ropes. The doorbell rings, she hunkers down on the couch. Just like Mama. She says, "Shhhhhhh......" in a loud stage whisper. Just like Mama.

And then when I have tiptoed over to the peephole and verified that whoever has dared to intrude is gone, she asks, "Can I talk now, Mama?"

I've trained her so well.

Last Monday, I was standing by the kitchen sink cutting up a mango for Savannah. I happened to glance up and noticed two young guys, maybe around 20, walking up my sidewalk and around towards my front door. My first thought was, Oooh, they sort of look like hooligans.....but other than that I didn't pay much attention to them.

I hissed a warning to Savannah, who was in the living room on the couch....."Savannah! Shhh! Doorbell!"

(And now that I'm typing this, our system sounds so much sillier than it does when we are actually implementing it. Not that I'm planning on changing it or anything, because it is has served us quite well thus far).

Two seconds later, the doorbell sounded. We shrunk into our respective positions to wait them out; I heard their voices, but not clear enough to make out what they were saying, just muffled murmurs. A few seconds later, it was quiet.

I stepped out from my little space and started to walk towards the living room. And that's when I saw them.

In my backyard.

One of them was scoping out the place, probably looking for a rock to hurl through the window. The other had his face pressed up to the sliding glass door, looking inside, trying to open it.

Oh, sisters. In about two seconds flat I went from zero to sixty. I roared - ROARED, I tell you - at them while I sprinted for the front door. "What the...!!!! GET OUT OF HERE!"

By the time I fumbled with all the locks - 3 locks and two doors - and burst outside, they had already leaped over my stone wall, which is chest-high on me, and sped around the corner.

I was so furious that I followed them. I pounded across our lovely gravel yard and down the hot sidewalk in my bare feet and nice stretchy pants and pajama top that looks enough like a regular shirt that sometimes I pretend that I don't need to get dressed.

Those boys were fast. But at that moment, I had such surge of adrenaline that I felt I could catch them and take them both down. That's how utterly incensed I was.

Then reality set in as I realized, (a). I didn't have my shoes on, (b). there was no way I would catch them, and (c). oh yeah, my baby girl is still inside by herself. And a bonus point, (d). what exactly did I think I would do to them anyway, even if I could catch them?

So I stopped at the edge where the sidewalk met the street, still screaming at them. They bolted far up the street, then turned right and careened away. Once they were gone, I suddenly became aware of just how hot the sidewalk was, and just how sharp the gravel was. Funny what adrenaline will do to you - I didn't even notice it on my mad dash out.

My neighbor came over right away to check on me and calm me down. I called the police, and they came in two minutes, and started combing the neighborhood. I called Ricardo, who had left that morning for a business trip for 4 days, and he said, "Go figure, the day I leave...."

Seriously, y'all. It still makes me mad to think about it, the gall of these people to march right on in like they own the place....to look in my windows, to contemplate taking my stuff.

It could have been so much worse. All of the what if's......what if I hadn't been home? What if they had thrown a rock and broken the window before I screamed? What if they had a gun?

But they didn't. None of that happened. We were protected by the great Protector - thank you Lord.

I doubt if they will be back, since a crazy lady obviously lives here.

A warning to all you hooligans out there....don't mess with Mama.

37 comments:

Wendi@EveryDayMiracles said...

Oh my Jackie! First of all - I hate that this happened.

Secondly - WOW! You go girl! I didn't realize you had that in you. :)

Are your feet okay?? :)

Praying for peace for you and Savannah.

sara said...

oh.my.word.

that's all I can say....it would have scared me to death.

remind me never to mess with you! :)

Colored With Memories said...

oh my goodness! so glad y'all are okay...that is crazy!

i'm scared i would have been so freaked out that i wouldn't have remembered how to scream! do you every have those kind of dreams? where you need to scream, but can't!?!

Carpool Queen said...

Holy cow, woman! That's so scary! I'm so glad you saw them in the yard before they had a chance to enter your home. You're right - the Great Protector was watching over you, and HE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. Praying for your peace.

The Fritz Facts said...

Oh man...I am so sorry this happened, but so glad that you are all okay.

Mama Bear is a force to be messed with...we always win.

Tracy's Porch said...

You go, Momma!

It never feels good to be violated in your safe place.

Glad y'all are okay!!!

Elizabeth said...

Wow! You know those hooligans aren't going to come back. You probably scared them enough to keep them from harassing anyone else. Thank you Lord for protecting you and making you fast!

The Sullivan Sitcom said...

OMG! You are so brave! I don't think I would have been able to do all that. Way to go!

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh Jackie, I went from laughing at our similarities about hiding from unannounced strange visitors to reading with worry about your encounter. We have had daytime break-ins in our area and I have always worried that the wrong person will be at my door when I am hiding. Now I know the right thing to do in that situation since it obviously worked for you! I can't believe how brave you are! I have tried to greet a visitor through the door and show them I don't have to open it to find out what they want but they act like they cannot hear me. I know they can. So now I hide. Way to protect your home and your little one.

Sara@iSass said...

Scary! I won't tell you about the time we came home from the store to find a dozen cop cars on our block, and when they came knocking on the door what they told us.
And look at you chasing down the punks!
SO glad nothing more serious happened.
Praise God.

H-Mama said...

i thought i was the only one who did this! ;) i have trained my girls to do the same. they are to remain quiet and under no circumstances do they answer the door... people that need to come in have a key, right? ;) i have reason to do so... i mean, what exactly WERE the intentions of the young ruffian wearing a latex glove on his left hand banging at my door then staring at my house from his car?? i called hubby and described everything to him in case something developed. thankfully, he eventually drove away. i love that i now have the intimidating bark from 'jasmine' to help any future situation. ;)

AND i'm so glad things worked out for you and savannah as well! what an adrenaline rush?!

oh... and YOU are the beautiful one. you're too sweet with your compliments. do you see me waving my hand to keep them coming? haha ;D

Carolina Mama said...

Think I remember reading this - could it be a year?! that I have been reading. :) Love your wedding pictures and Savannah's singing! :)

Aspiemom said...

What's the matter with people these days? Glad you two are alright.

You need a big dog. One reason we have large dogs is because I feel safer when Jim is gone so often.

Lizz @ Yes, and So is My Heart said...

Yikes! Glad you guys are safe!

Queen to my 3 Boys said...

No way!!!

You are some woman!

Penny said...

OH MY GOSH!!

Girl...get a gun!!!!

Unknown said...

How scary! I'm glad you are okay and neither you or Savannah or your home was harmed in any way.

Don't take this wrong, but I would have loved to see you sprinting after those thugs! I bet you were amazing!!:)

Unknown said...

Yeah, what were you going to do with them once you caught them ... and in your bare feet and all?

You are definitely a mama bear. You go, lady!

Amber said...

Okay, so I already heard this story on FaceBook, but it still creeps me out hearing about it again. You are so BRAVE!!!!!

And can I just tell you how excited I am to know that someone else plays the Duck and Cover Game when the doorbell rings?! Thank you for making me feel normal!!!! :)

Nicole - Life in Progress said...

You go girl!! I'm not sure WHAT I would have done!

Anonymous said...

So at first I thought this was going to be a funny post on those of us moms who go into hibernation when we hear the doorbell ring (I'm one of those too), but OH MY GOSH!!!

You are a brave soul. I can't imagine what I would have done. Do you guys have a security system?

FilledToTheBrim - Kate said...

Oh my word!! You are brave - glad everything ended ok!

Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt said...

Jackie!! Oh my word! I probably would have chased them by instinct, too... Our house has a huge front window that makes it so we can't really hide from the doorbell. Don't get many rings though, either.

Mrs. H said...

Oh my goodness Jackie! How scary! I think I would have done what you did...well, maybe not! You are one brave Mama! Good for you for scaring them away!

Hey and here is a story for you...a couple of years ago, I was in my early pregnancy with Griff. I was home alone and sick with a cold. It was still daylight outside. Maybe around 6:30, 7-ish in the evening. I decide to take a nice, quiet bath. The house was silent and I was actually praying and thanking God for the peace and quiet! When I stood up out of the tub, I thought I saw movement in our bathroom window. We have those block windows, that you are not supposed to be able to see anything thru...So I stuck my face up to the glass and see 2 sets of hands pulling up on the brick. Then I see 2 heads. Now remind you I am naked...I immediately start bangin on that window screaming at them to get away. I see 3 boys scurry away. You know what I did? I threw on some clothes and ran out my front door after them. They ran thru the neighbors yards looking back at me and finally stopped about 4 or 5 houses down. And slowly walked back to me. By this time, the dad of one boy had obviously seen me walking down the street with steam coming out of my ears. I told the father what they had done and turned around and stomped home. I was so mad! I still get mad. If those had of been my boys, they WOULD have apologized. These boys never did...in fact, a few weeks after this they had the nerve to knock on my door and ask me if I had anything recyclable. THe nerve!

So good for you to chase away criminals...I tend to just stick to the 10 year old's in training ;0

Lisa said...

Jackie, that's so scary, especially when your husband is not even in town to come give you hugs!

As I was reading the story, I was mostly wondering "d". WHAT would you do with them if you caught them? I'm sure you've come up with many things while you've been thinking about it since. :)

Really glad you two are ok!!

Gwendolyn said...

Oh my goodness ...I would have been completely freaked out! I'm so glad that they ran away!

Tirz said...

WOW Jackie! Wow, wow, wow! GOOD on you girl! I am SO proud of you! You certainly showed them, didn't you?! SO thankful that you & your baby girl are safe and sound. Thank You Lord!

Jamie said...

Yikes...so scary! I'm so glad everything turned out ok. I'm impressed with your reaction; I think I would have freaked and hid in a closet.

Growin' With It said...

well i sure hope you are giving yourself a good ol' pat on the back by your bravery. cool how your instincts kicked in. but all in all...what an awful ordeal. poor thing. glad you are okay.

Gretchen said...

Scary. We need to keep that fine line between vigilance and anxiousness, right? You knew just where to turn. And you're right. He was protecting you.

Mamajil said...

That is so scarey! I hope you guys are okay and that no more "bad guys" come knocking at your door....I pity them!! lol

Momisodes said...

My heart is racing just reading this! You are SUCH a brave woman. I am so sorry this happened, and I hope that it never does again.

p.s. My daughter and I do the same thing when someone rings our doorbell.

Genny said...

We have the same doorbell routine at our house, but we've never had a situation like that. So scary, Jackie. Glad (so glad!) that all is well! You are one brave mama. :)

Heather of the EO said...

Holy cows!

I'm sorry this happened. I'm so glad you're OK. I can't wrap my mind around people just walking right up in broad daylight. WITH PEOPLE HOME. ACK!

You're one brave woman!

Chel's Leaving a Legacy said...

DANG, girl! I could totally see you coming at those boys like a roaring lion!

But you'd better never do that again. I can't even think about what COULD have happened! Ugh. So glad they weren't armed. SO glad. :-)

SarahHub said...

So glad everything turned out okay! You brave girl!

Carrie said...

{first of all...why have I missed so many of your posts? WHere have I been? Sorry!} And, at first, I was kind of laughing because the kids and i do the exact same thing! I don't like answering the door, and when I see people coming...we hide! luckily, Skipper barks them away too! And we've recently had a security alarm installed..that makes me feel a little better! How scary that they would just intrude right on in, in the middle of the day! I'm so glad your adrenaline kicked in...and no one was hurt! Go mama!