Lucky (VERY)

Wow... what a horrible afternoon!!! Today was actually great, but when I got home from work to find that the front door of our house was wide open, I completely flipped out. Instead of pulling into the garage, I slammed on the brakes in the driveway, jumped out, and ran to the door... My first thoughts:

1. OH MY GOD what if Charlie (the cat) is gone???
   
2. Is there somebody in our house right now????
   
3. WHERE IS THE CAT???
   
4. Have we been robbed??
   
5. How did this happen??????????

The good news is that we were very, very lucky. As soon as I ran through the door, Charlie was right there (with his fur all bristled and his back arched). I did a thorough check of the house, and nobody was inside (other than me, Charlie, and our parrot, Corky). Even better, nothing appears to have been stolen. As soon as I saw Charlie, though, I picked him up and started crying. If you are an animal lover, you understand-- he is my baby! And he is purely an inside cat, so I was incredibly worried that he might have wandered out through the open door... and we have coyotes in the area... all these horrible thoughts were running through my mind. I couldn't believe he was still inside the house, with the door wide open!!! I guess he knows where his home is! I ♥ my kitty!!



Anyway... I quickly figured out what happened. The short story: Our front door sucks. You might think it's closed, but the only way to be sure is to use the deadbolt (which I always use). We hardly ever use the door, anyway, since we generally come and go through the garage. On a typical day, we generally only go out the front door to check the mail-- and I am usually the person to do this, since I am home first. Well... Last night, the mail came much later than usual, and it didn't arrive until after Gus had gotten home. He went to get the mail, came back in, closed the door, and locked the bottom lock (NOT the deadbolt). I guess it wasn't latched... It stayed closed all night, and was definitely still closed this morning, but I bet a breeze blew it open today (it doesn't take much). I have no way of knowing if it was open all day or for only a few minutes. I am just glad that everything is okay. Gus feels terrible, too... but I bet he'll remember to use the deadbolt from now on!

sigh... Times like these I really wish I could have a nice glass of wine!!!!!