Don't Back Down

The day started off fairly abnormal - I was actually awakened by noises in the hall. That in itself isn't really unusual, as our kids typically make all sorts of noise. But normally, I'm up before they are, which means I make the noise and they have to deal with it. So I'm in the other room reading by the time they really get going. More importantly, however, they weren't home. It was just me, Denise, and the indoor dogs (and they were in the room with us). So noise in the hall is potentially a bad thing.

I actually was a bit spooked by the whole thing, so I grabbed the phone and woke Denise up too (no reason for me to enjoy this all on my own), and was getting ready to have her call 911 or something, when I realized that it's a really odd time for someone to be breaking in. I mean let's think about it. Not only are they tip-toeing down the hallway, but they are doing it in the dark (no lights were on). That's a recipe for disaster if there ever was one. Still, we didn't have any way to protect ourselves back in the bedroom, with the exception of a lamp, so we figured we'd be on the safe side and make the call.

Not too many minutes later, we saw lights pull in the driveway, and someone called on the phone (which gives away our hiding place - thanks 911!). But they said that the police officers hadn't found anything, and were coming to the front door. Sure enough, the doorbell rang just a minute later. Probably not even that. So I went outside with them to check out the property, and everything looked good. They asked if we had a firearm, and when they learned we didn't, they suggested we get one. Interesting. Probably a good idea, but not always what you're ready to hear at the crack of dawn - from the police no less.

So we went back inside to try and get a bit of sleep. After looking in every dark and scary corner of the house. Twice.

As to the noise? The best guess at the moment is either some rodent (a really big rodent) under the house or a ghost. We're currently undecided. Thoughts?