I really liked that purse, dammit!

My purse was stolen out of my unlocked car today, along with everything inside including my credit card, driver's license, debit card, camera, cell phone, and migraine medication. (Losing the migraine meds seriously ticks me off). It was a crappy way to start the weekend, by anyone's standards. But the reason I'm sharing is to say don't do what I did. Don't ever leave your car unlocked when you walk away, even when it's in plain sight. I left the car for 3 or 4 minutes while I walked the girls into preschool. My parking space was only a few feet from the door, easily visible by the office administrator, the classrooms, or me if I had turned around at any point. Obviously someone had scoped out the school parking lot and knew that parents like me frequently came and went without locking the car door. I spent a really pissed-off morning on the phone cancelling cards (which had already been used by the thief) and ordering replacements, and we'll need to get another blasted camera and cell phone. But the bottom line is that this was a relatively cheap lesson -- incredibly annoying, but cheap compared to what could have happened. All day, in the back of my mind, I've been thinking "What if someone had been waiting inside my car when I got back?" or "What if someone had grabbed one of the kids while I was bringing a grocery cart to the cart return?" Just thinking that way sends chills down my spine, but at least I've learned something from this. From now on, anytime I'm not in that driver's seat the car will be locked. Period. If I'm getting gas, it will locked. If I'm parked in the driveway and have to run to the mailbox, it will be locked. If I'm getting groceries, the kids will be put in their carseats, the doors will be locked, I'll unload the groceries into the back, then I'll put the cart in the cart return that I have parked right next to or I'll leave it in the parking spot, no apologies. If you're reading this, please don't do what I did -- lock your car doors every single time you leave the car. The world is a really nice place, but there are still some bad people out there.