Not-so-happy returns.

Yesterday afternoon, we returned home, tan and tired (tired mostly because of assorted annoyances that began as we attempted to leave Costa Rica and persisted in increasingly annoying, but ultimately hilarious progression until we finally boarded our Denver-bound plan in Atlanta) only to discover that our house was invaded during our absence. The burglars broke a basement window, proceeded directly to my home office, and absconded with only the CPU tower to my computer. Happily (and somewhat mystifyingly), none of the valuable or sentimental items in the house were stolen.

My computer was a seven-year-old relic that needed replacing, and as best I can recall had nothing important or financially damaging stored in it. It did contain a few bits of private, mostly terrible writing that I'd prefer not to have read by anyone, but the police were pretty sure the thieves would either strip the machine for parts or erase the hard drive and resell it on the cheap to a student.  So while I can't easily afford a new computer right now, the loss is relatively minor. The worst part about it may be this: with bitter cold for much of the past week and the thermostats set in the low 60s, the open window produced a January heating bill nearly double December's.

Still, Steve and I were pretty flipped out last night. The break-in jolted us back to reality after a wonderful and rejuvenating vacation.  I had terrible dreams all night, but woke up feeling more angry than scared and have spent most of today regaining my sense of security in my own home.