Sad times

Recently, there have been several events locally and across the nation where women, of varying race and age have been brutalized.  The tone of my city is somber, as a beloved figure passed away, succumbing to the injuries sustained the week before.  

Jennifer Hudson and her fans mourn the loss of her sister, mother and nephew.

Another woman in my state was murdered in her home.

It is a sad, scary time to be a woman right now.  

This morning, as part of my Friday ritual, I took the dogs out to use the bathroom.  (Quick aside, our neighbors to the back of us have fleas, so we take the dogs in the front yard.)  I am standing about five feet from the house, in my pajamas and fleece throw from the couch, coaxing the dogs to "go potty" when I am interrupted by a voice behind me.  At the other end of our small yard is a man/boy/guy of some sort (I couldn't tell, I didn't have my contacts in yet) and he asked me what time it was.  I stand stunned at the person, invading my yard, and well, scaring the shit out of me.  "Six thirty," was about all I could manage before my two dogs charged at him as though their combined weight was more than 30 lbs.  So, now, I have to approach this person, to retrieve my dogs.  He bent down and petted my wiener dog, and she declared him 'friendly' much faster than I have ever seen her accept a person she has met fewer than five times.  Up close, I could tell he was young-probably high school, and had blonde shaggy hair.  I corralled the dogs back to the other side of the yard, and blonde boy walked across the street, and out of my not-so-great sight.

Did I get chills?  No.  It wasn't that bad.  But it did make me more aware of how important knowing your surroundings actually is.  I mean, he came out of nowhere.  And with my husband asleep in bed, it might have been a little while before he realized I wasn't coming back.  

I don't want to live in fear of being snatched, harmed or murdered, and I don't think a life lived in fear is worth living.  

But neither is one where I end up in a coma.