Burglarized but Unbowed: They Stole Nothing of Value

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A home invasion. That's what they call it if the family is home when the robbers come. But even if you've stepped out for an hour (thank God for the dentist), it still feels like an invasion. Someone kicked in my door, ran through my house, and stole things, the most important being peace of mind.

Five minutes, in and out, the police said. It's a thief's job. Some job.

First of all, you feel violated. You spot the pillow on the floor, realize that someone used the case to haul off your laptop and you know you will never again be able to lay your head on that pillow and catch a peaceful nap.

You do an inventory of the jewelry they swiped -- not a diamond or rare stone in the bunch. But there's the pin from your sister-in-law that went perfectly with your brown sweater. And the clip-on earrings collected over a lifetime, many of them valued presents.

The gray cloth earrings – gone. The woman who insisted you take them told you about life with her husband, a Secret Service agent performing advance work in Dallas on the day President Kennedy was shot. He recalled that day in the few clear moments amid his Alzheimer's fog. He gradually forgot everything and everyone -- except his wife. You wrote about it all in a front-page story that she displayed at his funeral. That rush of approval and love you felt as she cried and pressed her gift into your palms – well, that's something the thief couldn't touch.

We have a new door now, and I've learned of too many similar stories. Some say it happened because times are tough. I don't know about that. My father, on his own at 13, worked two and three jobs if he had to. Are times tough now? He lived through the Depression.

But gradually, I've realized how lucky I am.

The thief may have some of the notes locked in my computer. But I have the mind that put them there.

He didn't get the chance to hurt me, my husband or my son. We have each other and the values that would never allow us to take something that belongs to someone else.

The thief has things, only things.