An unlocked front door

was something that needed to be dealt with yesterday.

I keep a front door key in a safe place outside because I am always concerned I might lock myself out of the house. At the same time I have become used to wearing my keys on a lanyard because I am also worried about leaving my tricycle unlocked.

 I know - more than one person thinks I worry too much about these things. Really? We have been burgled more than once. It is a very unsettling experience. I am still angry with the person who stole the watch my mother gave the Senior Cat on the occasion of their 50th Wedding Anniversary - and thankful that the necklace he gave her was safely in Middle Cat's possession by the time the burglary occurred. 

It was with those things in mind that I was equally concerned to see my neighbours immediately opposite had left their front door open. Now I might not have thought too much about this in summer but why would they have the front door wide open on a rather cool day? There were no cars in their driveway. (They have two.) I went out and checked. No, neither car was parked in the street.

So I prowled across the street. The screen door was not properly shut and the main door, as I thought, was wide open. I called out. There was no response. I opened the screen door and listened. Absolute silence. The house was empty. I called out again to be sure. I found the key on the other side. I pulled the door shut and locked it. Then I left a message for S.... on her phone. She was likely busy seeing patients. 

It was not until lunch time I had a relieved sounding message back thanking me. "M...and the boys must have been in a real rush."

The same thing happened once before some years ago. On that occasion it was understandable. S... and M... had rushed off to hospital. H... , the younger of the two boys, was just a tiny baby - a very tiny baby. There was reason to be concerned about him. 

Later in the afternoon S...came and collected the key from me. "It's just as well we live in a quiet street," she told me.

I didn't like to tell her we had been burgled.