Robbed, I Tell You

My Life

So. What can I say about being burglarized that’s constructive?

Well, first off, none of us were hurt. The thief broke in in the middle of the day, and we all (oddly) happened to be gone. So the burglar got our stuff, but the baby is safe. It makes me feel better just to type that, actually. Isn’t it nicer when you don’t have to attack a guy climbing in your apartment window while the baby looks on? I think so.

Fortunately, our sentimental things are mostly not expensive things, but this whole robbery gig is starting to feel personal. As you may remember, in December, someone stole my purse while we were in Argentina. The car’s been broken into a couple of times in the last year (always in different neighborhoods), and Bryan had his bike stolen from a coffee shop near his office a couple months ago. Whee!

However, having a baddie inside the house is a whole new level of yuck. Seeing all our drawers dumped out on the bed, waiting for the police to come take fingerprints, noticing one thing is gone, and then another, all day long. It’s gross. It makes me want to give the whole apartment a shower.

Anyway, we’re fine, but shaken. For the next few days I’m going to try not to cry when someone cuts me off in traffic or is curt to me as I’m ordering coffee, and then we’ll see how it goes.

Thanks to everyone who Twittered their concern. You guys keep proving how nice you are, and that is why I like you.

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101 thoughts on “Robbed, I Tell You”

  3. so sorry to hear maggie…. people steal from my retail store all the time and it just puts the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach. hang in there!

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  4. That’s awful and violating. I’m with you. It was my laptop, my car and my purse (wallet, house/car keys, prescription eyeglasses that I *ADORED*, etc.)…all in two weeks.

    It’s scary. And a huge inconvenience. But (not that I know you), I’m glad that you and yours are safe.

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  5. Maggie, I am so sorry to hear that your home was broken into. Something similar happened to me several years ago in my dorm room in London, and it was deeply unsettling. I hope your normalcy returns soon. In the meantime, take care and be gentle with yourself.

    I attempted mine with a different dorm room and by sticking a sign by the light switch “Have already been robbed once. Nothing of value. Take the liquor and leave me alone.”

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  6. I know exactly what you’re going through and I’m so sorry. You’re right to try and focus on the positive stuff, but I remember well what it felt like the night I came home to my own broken-in apartment and that sense of your safe place being violated can be totally overwhelming. At the time I didn’t have really anything of value besides some (not very expensive, but it was all I had) jewelry and about $1200 of camera equipment, along with some cash that was set aside for a trip I was taking 2 days later. Of course the camera equipment, jewelry and cash were all stashed away in hidden places of my apartment but they found it all anyway.
    Sending you lots of love & positivity.
    Jules
    House of Jules

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  9. we were burglarized about a year ago. it was really icky, especially since it was in the middle of the night and we were all upstairs asleep. I still get creeped out, but I take comfort in the fact that it was totally random. we were just unlucky that particular night.

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  10. That sucks, and I’m really sorry to hear about it. A month after my apartment was robbed earlier this year, I threw a crime scene celebration bash. I reenacted the scene with footprints tracing the thieves’ path through my apartment, hung up some police tape and made evidence markers, and invited everyone I knew for a party. It absolutely made my place feel like home again, and it vanquished all of the icky feelings of violation. Sending good thoughts your way.

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  11. While I’m happy everyone is safe, I know it’s hard to feel very secure knowing someone broke into your living space. It’s a bummer when someone creepy takes that freedom away. Hugs.

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  12. dude. I am so sorry. make sure you cleanse the apartment of all bad juju with some burning sage and shit. I feel terrible… Thank God you were not around!

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  13. Oh. Maggie, I am so glad no one was hurt. WOuld you like me to box up all the Lysol-like green cleaning products I have in the house and send them your way?? I’m sure they won’t stain TOO bad. Turn up your ESPN, I’m broadcasting happy cheerleader vibes to lift your spirits.

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  14. I totally feel your pain. It’s been three months since I arrived finding home and found my most valuable (but luckily not the most sentimental) items disappeared. They even stole a bottle of tequila, which I sorely missed right that instant as I stood in my doorway kicking myself for not having renter’s insurace. Crap. If you discover what takes that damned graphite off of window blinds, do let us all know. Sending warm, safe thoughts.

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  15. That’s so terrible, I’m sorry you had to go through that. Would it be totally impossible to take a mini break to the weekend house?

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  17. Maggie, my heart goes out to you guys. And you nailed it on the head with giving your whole apartment a shower. I’m glad you guys are safe, but still…. Such a bummer about being robbed. 😦

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  18. Completely and utterly terrible! Bad bad bad people!

    I don’t have anything to compare, and can’t imagine how utterly violated you must feel knowing that a complete stranger, one who held no respect for anything, was in your very personal space.

    I’m sure it doesn’t help at all, but that bad guy(s) will get his tenfold. Here’s thanking all higher powers that you and yours were away when it happened. Phew!

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  21. Last year my dad’s house got robbed. They took paintings, pictures, all weirdly personal things. They took his box of buttons which he had for forty years (and which I always played with as a kid). In that box were my baby teeth. I still feel sick when I think about it and I am so sorry it happened to you.

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  22. I’m so sorry! I’m glad you are all OK though. I know exactly what you mean about giving the apartment a shower. Big hugs and we will be thinking of you guys.

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  24. That is very upsetting. I hope in time (soon) you can feel secure and peaceful in your home again.

    Or you could move to Indiana. We’ve never been robbed. And you can buy a new 2800 sq. foot house for under $200k. : )

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  25. Wow, I’m glad to hear you all are all right! But it’s still scary, and invasive. I had someone try to break in to my first apartment (oh, so many years ago!)… I was there, which brought a whole different level of fear.

    And you put it exactly: wanting to give the whole apartment a shower.

    I hope you can feel safe again. I refused to move until I felt safe again… or rather, I refused to move just because of the attempted break in. Thinking good thoughts for you.

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  27. Oh Maggie, that IS gross…I remember in high school my mom’s car was stolen, and she didn’t even want it back. The thought of what *might* have gone on in that car while it was gone was just too awful for her to contemplate.

    Hopefully this’ll all be behind you soon.

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  28. God that really sucks. My house was broken into years ago and it felt creepy for months. I’m a long time lurker coming out to say – I’m really sorry you have to go through this but I’m glad you are all safe, despite the creepiness.

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  29. I’ve been burgled, too, and know how awful it is. It’s hard to get your peace of mind back after such an event but one thing that helped me was installing do-it-yourself security measures, like door and window alarms. Just go to Amazon and search on “door alarm” and “window alarm” and you’ll find some good, inexpensive options.

    Heck, maybe you could even do a Mighty Goods piece on home and personal security and use your own experience to help others. Granted, most security items don’t fall into the unique and beautiful category like the things you list, but there are some interesting things out there, like the pepper spray that looks like a tube of lipstick.

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  30. Maggie, I don’t usually comment, but just wanted to say how sorry I am — what a crap thing to deal with. if I knew you in real life I’d come over with a piece of pie, cup of tea, and bottle of wine.

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  31. I’m so sorry this has happened! I’m glad to know you are all safe. When I was an undergrad, I had a group of stalkers continuously follow me, up to the point were they broke into/damaged my car several times. The feeling of paranoia stays to this day.

    Sending you positive vibes!

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  32. Wow. I feel for you. Robbed at home in NYC twice. Car broken into once. Then! Friend’s apartment robbed while I was visiting her in SF. The highlight: The flamboyant SFPD CSI who came over to dust for prints. The lowlight: Having to throw out all my underwear, twice, because I couldn’t get over the skeeve factor of wearing that which had been rifled through.

    Get police report of everything taken and make generous value estimates. That document makes a great tax deduction.

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  33. Maggie I am so sorry. Someone broke into my car one and that’s exactly what it felt like, gross! The driver seat had been moved back and it was just SO WRONG.

    I’m glad to hear that you are all safe.

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  37. oh, yuck, is right. it is good that you did not have to beat the shit out of a robber in front of sweet hank. but, still…that just sucks.

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  39. This is really just horrible, and I’m really sorry. We were robbed more than two years ago, and I’m just now getting over it. It was even an out building, but I was alone… anyway. Gross.

    I vote that you take one of your things off of your list and get a dog. 🙂

    Sending happy thoughts…

    xo

    b.

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  40. that is horrible, but I’m just glad that you are all safe. It’s shocking that people still break in and take things that don’t belong to them…you would think we would have evolved past that.

    I hope the world is nicer to you from now on.

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  42. Happened to me too. They even went through my underwear drawer which made me feel so violated and disgusted, I screamed, cried, and threw up. In that order.

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  43. Although it’s not as bad as a home burglary, I had my purse stolen almost literally from under my nose in a grocery store and in it was a $600 PDA. I entertained happy thoughts of the thieves trying to charge it with the car battery and then I imagined the resulting conflagration and it made me feel better. Try it. Imagine awful things happening to them when they try to use or sell your stuff. It’s therapeutic.

    They also got the spare key to my car along with my driver’s license with my address on it so it was like “Come claim your free car!” (They never did.)

    I also like to imagine the look on their faces when, rifling through the bag’s contents, they found my badge. It was at that point that I presume the whole thing went into a river or something because nothing was ever found. (This was several years ago.)

    Sending many vibes of strength and support your way, and wishing I could do more.

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  44. Blech! I felt so badly for you when I read this on Twitter and now again with this post. Robbery is such a violation. I’m so glad to read that your family wasn’t home and wasn’t harmed in any physical way. Still, that yucky, gross feeling that lingers is so horrible. I hope that it passes quickly. I’m also hoping they get caught or at least you get some of your stuff back…and sending those de-yuck-the-apartment-type-vibes.

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  45. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I understand that feeling of wanting to disinfect your world.

    We had our car stolen out of our driveway. In the trunk were items from our daughter’s wedding. The car was recovered, but the creeps had smoked something vile in it. Also, the trunk had been cleared out in order to hold stolen parts from other cars.

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  46. So sorry about the break in. It’s not even the stuff that’s stolen, it’s the fact that some arsehole was in YOUR house, going through YOUR space, YOUR stuff. It’s such a violation. Hope they catch the jerk.

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  47. mean peopel suck! so sorry to hear about your misfortune, but so glad to hear all the masons are safe.

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  48. Oh My, that sounds completely horrific, Maggie. I am relieved everyone is safe and that you weren’t around for it. I am so sorry it even happened.

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  50. It makes me angry when someone so obviously full of good intentions and good will has something so violating happen. The good news is I know you will take this terrible experience and make something good out of it. In the meantime, darn those evildoers to heck, to heck I say!

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