A Taste of Awful

Something really horrible has happened next door, you guys. A few months ago I wrote about our next door neighbors and how their house had been broken into two times within a three month time frame. Not long after that it was broken into again. We don't live in the best neighborhood, but it's definitely not the worse by any means. I've never felt scared about loading the car for work at night or sitting on the porch with G when the weather is nice.

Last night after work, I was blowing raspberries and reading books with Henry when I noticed three cop cars parked outside our house. I stepped onto the porch and found four cops standing around the front door of our neighbor's house. I asked them if everything was alright and they told me things were "just fine" and I mentioned the break-ins. One of them came over and asked me about the tenants and prior burglaries.

I told her that because of all the break-ins, the couple renting the place had broken their lease just two weeks ago and a new girl had moved in. We hadn't met her but had been told she was 24 years old and was moving here alone from Atlanta. The cop took my information, thanked me, and then left.

A half hour later, a forensics van pulls up and they head into the house with green gloves and swab sticks. An hour later they're taking pictures of the entire house, digging through the trash outside, and rummaging through her mail/car.

As I peeked through the blinds from H's dark room, a big black van drives up and they pull out of the back a body bag on a stretcher. What the hell?!

The scariest part is that we still don't know what happened. All we know is that the girl next door is dead. The whole thing has been harder for me to deal with tonight than it was last night.

Since H was born, things like this are more difficult for me to deal with. I think having a baby makes you realize just how precious life is and how lucky we are to be alive. Even if you don't want to, every horrible situation makes you automatically think "What if that was my baby?" and then you feel so sick to your stomach even slightly imagining such. I can't even watch movies the same way I used to. Every show involving kidnapping, murders, or any kind of dangerous situation really puts me on edge now.

As cheesy as it sounds, life really is so short. Enjoy every moment of it.