I blame June.

no, not the month .... my friend and co-worker, June.

Yesterday we went to lunch and she said "I have to say I think you're holding up very well."  When I asked what she meant (I was honestly confused) she replied she knew things were tough on me right now with a lot of stresses including my daughter's health, an employee at work giving me a hard time (imho she has issues with my promotion) and this new issue of coming home to find someone in my yard thing ........  (I'll explain that in a few).

Yeah --I do have a lot going on.  ^^ those things are just a couple in the list.  I keep it together most of the time and when at work don't allow it to rule me. I don't snap at my co-workers, I don't walk around unhappy and frowning .... I practice the "SUCK IT UP PRINCESS" mantra ..... LOL

Anyhoo I get home AFTER this conversation and my yard is clear ..... 5 mins later girlchild comes running in the door holding a baby on her hip and dragging a 4 yr old and 7 yr old behind her (she was babysitting my niece and nephews and came home to get something) yelling she had just called dad b/c "he" was in the yard again.  <insert curse word of your choice here, sometimes it really does fit the need>.

So -- ready for me to back up?

Friday night I went out with some friends.  One friend lives out the county part of our huge but not overly populated little town.  She drove into town, parked at my house and we took my car and went and picked our other friend.  We had a GREAT time.  Laughed, great dinner (and drinks) and laughed some more. 

We dropped E off at her house and D and I continued on to my house.  She was DD this time and was driving my car (her truck is huge, costs a ton in gas and did I mention is huge?).  As we slowed down to turn into my drive we both saw a "flash" of white UNDER her truck and looked at each other and said "what the heck was that?".  As turned the wheel more and was facing my drive we both saw Zeb sitting there and figured the "flash" was him .... so we kept going.  Because he just SAT there instead of moving I asked her to just leave my car where it was and park it there.  It was only 4 or so feet from my normal spot and essentially just meant it was parked on the grass vs the pavement -- no big deal.  It also put my car directly beside her truck .... door to door pretty much.

We get out and still have the doors open and are talking (loud b/c we're both loud girls) and laughing.  We talk for about 2 mins or so and she yells out "good night" and turns to her truck ..... JUST as a man RUNS from behind her truck, onto the road and away from my house.   We just about had a heart attack ... really. This man was HIDING literally 3 foot from where we STOOD for 2-3 minutes.  HE was the flash of white we saw (sneakers).

I call boychild to see if he is working (I live in his work area, not his father's) and he is not.  While I am ON the phone with him (still outside b/c to be honest I wasn't sure if anyone was in my house or not -- wasn't sure if this person was the look out, a peeping Tom or wtheck he was) I see someone on my road walking towards us.  As we stand in the yard, phone in hand, car doors still open a man is walking towards us.  We both stand to the front of my car (I have a smallish SUV and can stand and see thru my windows w/o bending down) with the doors open, one leg almost IN the car .... UGH.  Anyhoo --- my road is dark and he is practically right next to us when I recognize him as a young man who lives 2 houses on the other side of me.  He never looks at us at he passes, never speaks .... just walks by.  

I feel pretty certain he was the one in the yard at this point but.... who knows???

I check out my house while on the phone with my son and all is clear.  His dad is working a drug bust/search warrant thing and I speak to him only briefly. I call girlchild to see what time she is coming home so I can make sure I am outside when she gets home.  She was already on her way. The police in my jurisdiction come - check out my yard and talk to me.  I do inform them that we've had issues in the past with someone tapping on girlchild's bedroom window and bamming on the front door when we are not in the living room (never when we are in the living room, ALWAYS when we are in the bathroom or our rooms in the back part of the house). 

Saturday I have to work late and don't get home until almost 9.  Girlchild was babysitting at my niece's house and calls me at work to see what time I am coming home b/c she needs some things from the house but is scared to go home alone at dark <insert huge frown here b/c this makes me very sad>.  I told her I was finishing up my paper work and should be leaving in 10 (I live 2 mins from work).  She calls me again while I am driving home and I let her know she can come home.

Nobody is in my yard when I get home -- I have a clear view of the front yard b/c no other vehicles are there. NOBODY was there.  Girlchild as you read above gets home 5 mins later and this young man I saw the night before is IN MY yard.  Less than 6 foot from my front door.  

Her brother and dad were there in minutes ... both wanted to "talk" to the young man but I asked them not to at this point.  Emotions were high and I felt like it would be better to wait until they were calmer.

But back to the "I blame June ..... " title .... this time I cried.  I am so overwhelmed ... I already have so much on my plate .... that this ONE more thing made me sit on my sofa and cry.

Girlchild contacted me about 11 to let me know her eye was hurting .... she is still using her drops and used them again when she got home from babysitting.  This morning she woke up with the right eye swollen (as in difficult to open) and the left eye very, very red.  At her last visit with the eye dr her father asked if stress played a role in her condition.  The doctor said it didn't cause it (the autoimmune disease does) and the role of stress on flares has not been proven nor disproven.