9-1-1

So I called 9-1-1 for the first time ever this week.  

I debated it for a while.  Greg was out of town so I didn't have him to consult with.  I just lay there thinking for a while: should I call?  Is this really an emergency?  I didn't want it to be like taking a sick child to the doctor--you go.  You pay your $25 co-pay.  You sit in the waiting room.  You finally get called back.  Weight.  Temperature.  Symptoms.  The doctor graces you with his god-like presence.  Repeat symptoms.  It's been at least an hour with a sick kid in a cold office by this point.  Conclusion: (S)he has a cold or virus or whatever else.  There's no medication approved for this age.  You can give him/her Tylenol. {What are you an idiot?  Why do you waste my time like this?  Obviously you are lacking in intelligence for not knowing the things that I studied for years to know.}  I did not want that.  But at the same time, I didn't want to be the one who didn't call when the girl was being raped outside my front door. She wasn't but you've heard that story no?  A girl in New York a few years ago was raped and almost killed while on her front stoop.  Several neighbors heard, but nobody called the police.  I decided that my slight embarrassment was outweighed by the harm that could be caused to others.

Here's how it went.  I had just gotten up  with Alice.  It was 5:23 am.  I brought her back to my room when I heard them: five, very distinct and in rapid succession gun shots.  Close enough that they could have been on the property.  I stayed put having the above conversation in my head.  Then I made the call.

Operator: "Do you police, fire or ambulance?"

Me: "Um I just heard 5 gunshots."

O: What is your location?

M: (People I don't know now on occasion read this blog)

O: Did you see anything?

M: I'm not about to go or look outside.  My husband is out of town.  I'm here alone.

O: How far away were the shots?

M: We live on a large property.  Close enough that it could have been on our property or at the neighbors.

O: OK.  I've logged the report.  An officer will go check it out.  Would you like the officer to check on you too?

M: No.  That's ok.  (It's 5:30 am.  If the officer wakes up Rex, then that's the end of my night and I'd like to sleep more.  Besides, if anybody knocks at the door, I'll wet myself).

I spent the next 30 minutes or so planning multiple escape routes from the house and hiding places.  I considered getting a gun, but I see how as I don't know which bullets go with which guns, I'd more likely get shot with it than an invader.

I woke up still alive the next morning with my phone still in emergency mode: It stayed with the screen unlocked so all I had to do was hit the screen to call 9-1-1 back.  I thought that was pretty cool.

The next day when I told Greg, he said, "I wonder if it was down by the bridge at the edge of the property.  I think they do drug deals down there.  I've seen footprints."

Two nights later I heard another shot.  I did not call the police that time.  But I did call in the morning to tell them about the bridge.  They said they can't come unless there's an emergency so to be sure to call next time I hear a shot.

I now sleep with a golf club by my bed.

And for those of you who only visit here for pictures of the kids, here are some less pee-your-pants activities we did while Greg was out of town.