Weirdness in the Wee Morning
As a lot of people know - who know me - I have a lot of trouble falling asleep at a "decent" {according to what standards of decency?} hour, or at a "normal time". It doesn't help that my husband has to get up at 3 a.m. most mornings, or 2 a.m. on other mornings. When I'm not working at the school, I end up staying awake longer and longer, later and later. I used to work night shift at three separate jobs, so my body easily goes back to that schedule. Then I end up sleeping about 5 hours in the morning, sometimes more.
Last night-no, this morning I was reading a little before sleeping, and finally decided to try to sleep even though I didn't feel sleepy and it was still dark out. I looked at the clock as I was shutting off my lamp(by my bed). It was 5:12 a.m. So I stretch out, thinking it was going to take awhile to actually sleep. Nope.
The next thing I know, there is a bright light against my eyelids. I open my eye just in time to see a small orange light that seems to be pointed at my face from my bedroom window-which is just above my bed. This is important. The light is shining DOWN into my face, and travels left to right fast; then I blink and the light is gone. I also hear footsteps traveling down the side of my house. {The fence that separates our house from our neighbors' house is over 8 feet tall. If I look straight out the window, I see the fence, which is also about four feet away from our house. This fact is also important} I spent about a minute trying to say "hey", or call out. I COULDN'T MOVE MY MOUTH, but I could move my head and arms. As I'm laying there, I think I hear voices, but I'm not sure about that - I do hear the sliding glass door. It's 5:42 a.m. I think, oh it's just C (son), so I walk down to the kitchen (which is on the same side of the house as my bedroom), but I stay quiet, although I do whisper my son's name {NOW I can use my mouth!}. The house is dark. There is no-one in my kitchen. I had HEARD the sliding glass door though. So I go close it and lock it (we usually leave it open), and check the other doors. If someone really wanted to get in, though that would only slow them down. I went to the front door and eased it open and just stood there quietly for a couple minutes. I didn't hear or see anyone. So I decide to go back to bed. But instead of going right to bed, I walked to my bedroom sliding glass door (leads to back yard) and stand quietly with the lights out just listening. After about 3 minutes I hear from the direction ahead (which is someone else's backyard) the sound of feet landing on the ground, with a noise that sounds like stuff jingling in a pocket. THEN I get the chills. The whole time, from beginning lights in my face to the feet-dropping sound, both of my dogs are asleep. They both sleep in my room. I thought about calling the cops, even went back to the kitchen to get my cell phone, but by then I think whatever was going on was over.
Later as I'm talking to my husband about this, we're thinking the sliding glass door was the neighbor's door, and maybe he was flashing a light around, maybe he might have heard something. Maybe it was even his footsteps I heard. Of course my husband tells me I should have woke the dogs up and sent them outside. I should have. Even though SkippyJon will growl and bark at people he doesn't know, I have never ever seen Buddha growl at a person. Never.
Even later, I start really thinking about this:
I don't like the feeling that I might have to lock up all the windows and doors. We have never lived like that. For some reason, it's not the light, or the fact that I couldn't move my mouth to call out for a few minutes that makes me nervous. It's the footsteps, and the sound of someone jumping down from wherever they were ....waiting. I get the strong sense that they were waiting. I feel like I need to leave the light on all night tonight. This is just a tast of what some people go through. Because nothing happened. Whatever was going on, either something stopped them/him or possibly it was as simple as someone cutting through yards to get somewhere else. What ever it was, I know that there are people who have suffered much worse and had horrible things happen. So if I don't like the vulerable feeling I have now, I can just imagine what it must feel like after something horrible actually happens.
So to turn it around, I feel lucky and fortunate. Something woke me up, something was going on, but none of us were harmed - and if the sound of the sliding glass door was my door, if a stranger was in the house, nothing came of it. We don't have much to take anyway, if someone gets the idea to rob us. I'm thankful that everything is basically okay, as well as irritated that people have to run around doing assinine things.
Last night-no, this morning I was reading a little before sleeping, and finally decided to try to sleep even though I didn't feel sleepy and it was still dark out. I looked at the clock as I was shutting off my lamp(by my bed). It was 5:12 a.m. So I stretch out, thinking it was going to take awhile to actually sleep. Nope.
The next thing I know, there is a bright light against my eyelids. I open my eye just in time to see a small orange light that seems to be pointed at my face from my bedroom window-which is just above my bed. This is important. The light is shining DOWN into my face, and travels left to right fast; then I blink and the light is gone. I also hear footsteps traveling down the side of my house. {The fence that separates our house from our neighbors' house is over 8 feet tall. If I look straight out the window, I see the fence, which is also about four feet away from our house. This fact is also important} I spent about a minute trying to say "hey", or call out. I COULDN'T MOVE MY MOUTH, but I could move my head and arms. As I'm laying there, I think I hear voices, but I'm not sure about that - I do hear the sliding glass door. It's 5:42 a.m. I think, oh it's just C (son), so I walk down to the kitchen (which is on the same side of the house as my bedroom), but I stay quiet, although I do whisper my son's name {NOW I can use my mouth!}. The house is dark. There is no-one in my kitchen. I had HEARD the sliding glass door though. So I go close it and lock it (we usually leave it open), and check the other doors. If someone really wanted to get in, though that would only slow them down. I went to the front door and eased it open and just stood there quietly for a couple minutes. I didn't hear or see anyone. So I decide to go back to bed. But instead of going right to bed, I walked to my bedroom sliding glass door (leads to back yard) and stand quietly with the lights out just listening. After about 3 minutes I hear from the direction ahead (which is someone else's backyard) the sound of feet landing on the ground, with a noise that sounds like stuff jingling in a pocket. THEN I get the chills. The whole time, from beginning lights in my face to the feet-dropping sound, both of my dogs are asleep. They both sleep in my room. I thought about calling the cops, even went back to the kitchen to get my cell phone, but by then I think whatever was going on was over.
Later as I'm talking to my husband about this, we're thinking the sliding glass door was the neighbor's door, and maybe he was flashing a light around, maybe he might have heard something. Maybe it was even his footsteps I heard. Of course my husband tells me I should have woke the dogs up and sent them outside. I should have. Even though SkippyJon will growl and bark at people he doesn't know, I have never ever seen Buddha growl at a person. Never.
Even later, I start really thinking about this:
- The light was shining down into my face.
- the light was not really that bright, and it was kind of small.
- the light was orange.
- I didn't see any person in the window, although it was quick and I was focusing on the orange light. Now that I think about it, there was no glow or sense of reflection of light from the window glass
- It was a small orangish light that didn't really light up anything, not even my face. The neighbor would have had to be on top of his fence to shine the light in that direction from his yard; or had a looney-tunes flashlight, one that can travel in zigzags, go up and over his fence then down into my window
- The footsteps were RIGHT outside my window - very close.
- I think the light came first, then the footsteps. I think
- Once my eyes were open, in fact right when I blinked - no more light
- The time it took me to walk around my house and check the front, and then go quietly to my bedroom- about 5 to 10 minutes- was just enough time for someone to wait quietly, to see if maybe a light would come on in a house, or make sure no-one heard them, or something like that before jumping down from...somewhere.
- I never saw anyone, just heard the footsteps and the "landing".
- never heard the sound of anyone climbing, though that could have happened while I was in the kitchen or front yard
- It sounded like someone was trying to jump down quietly.
- the dogs never once barked - though they can be heavy sleepers.
- I should have called the police, especially because of the footsteps and the sound of someone jumping down from .....somewhere. I'm still not sure if I heard voices. you know the silence that roars? that's what if felt like, with the maybe voices just out of reach.
- The light in my eyes feels like it was a warning. The fact that I could not move my mouth, but I could move the rest of my body- could have been my subconcious making me stay quiet, so whoever was messing around would think they didn't wake anyone up. {what about the light though, that was not my subconcious}
- I'm a heavy sleeper, once I get to sleep. Footsteps wouldn't have woken me up.
- Someone was walking down the side of the house, and might have been in the house, but I heard the footsteps before the sliding glass door. So it could have been two people, one in the house another outside? except the footsteps were leading away from the kitchen towards the back- I think. Of course it could be coincidence and the neighbor could have been closing his sliding glass door, which faces our door. The sound could have come from any door.
- I should have woke my bigger dog up, hell, both dogs up before I started wandering around the house.
- Somebody definitely was sitting up somewhere a little off the ground, waiting.
- that somebody was trying to be quiet when he/she jumped down.
- I hate not knowing exactly what was up.
- I still feel like the light and me not being able to use my mouth was a warning.
I don't like the feeling that I might have to lock up all the windows and doors. We have never lived like that. For some reason, it's not the light, or the fact that I couldn't move my mouth to call out for a few minutes that makes me nervous. It's the footsteps, and the sound of someone jumping down from wherever they were ....waiting. I get the strong sense that they were waiting. I feel like I need to leave the light on all night tonight. This is just a tast of what some people go through. Because nothing happened. Whatever was going on, either something stopped them/him or possibly it was as simple as someone cutting through yards to get somewhere else. What ever it was, I know that there are people who have suffered much worse and had horrible things happen. So if I don't like the vulerable feeling I have now, I can just imagine what it must feel like after something horrible actually happens.
So to turn it around, I feel lucky and fortunate. Something woke me up, something was going on, but none of us were harmed - and if the sound of the sliding glass door was my door, if a stranger was in the house, nothing came of it. We don't have much to take anyway, if someone gets the idea to rob us. I'm thankful that everything is basically okay, as well as irritated that people have to run around doing assinine things.