every cloud has a silver lining // our minor tragedy

this space, our journal, is one we fill up with moments of our lives.  it is a true reflection of us and is a space where we celebrate the little things in our lives that we hold dear.  this moment i am about to share with you does not fall under the happy category.  not at all.  but out of this tragic event, we have learned some very important life lessons and are much more appreciative of what we have: each other. 

after coming home from work on friday we realized we had been robbed.  someone, between the hours of eight and four, had broken into our third story condo and had taken some of our valuables.  our new iMac, sadly, was stolen, among some other electronics...and strangely enough, as were our bed sheets.  gross. 

we were dumbfounded and in shock for the first five minutes upon realizing some of our possessions had been taken.  i was in denial trying to make up a variety of reasons as to why some of our things were not where we'd left them, not fully allowing myself to consider the reality that someone we did not know, stranger, had been in our home, our sacred place, when we were not there.  

then about ten minutes after talking it through and taking a moment for the whole situation to sink in came the terror and tears. and a call to the cops.  was this happening?  after all, we just moved in not too long ago and our neighborhood was the safest we have lived in since moving from iowa to kansas city. so how, HOW, was this even possible? 

then we saw our screen in our tiny kitchen window.  it was cut.  that's how.  dammit. 

after talking with our neighbors, we found out that we were not the only ones in our seemingly secure condo building that had their kitchen screens cut, but were were the only ones who had things stolen.  and then the cops came.  we filed a report, got some safety advice, and decided we needed to get out.  we needed to not be there and to clear our heads.  

after a night of trying to forget, we came home surprisingly thankful.  thankful that those creeps had not taken more than they did.  thankful that our poor frenchie leon was okay.  thankful that they did not break anything.  thankful we were not home when it happened.  and most of all, thankful for having each other to comfort.  

being robbed had always been one of our great fears.  we never, of course, thought it would or could happen to us.  and never in a million years would i have expected us to find a silver lining in the dark cloud that descended on us that late afternoon.  but we did.  and i am proud of us for that.

our computer was stolen so we opened up our home a bit more and moved our desk to the storage unit.  now, we feel less "attached" to the outside world of technology and actually relish that sentiment.  our electronics in the bedroom are now gone, so our room is peaceful and dedicated to more reading.  no more sheets?  now we can get those simple white ones we've been saving our pennies for. 

every cloud has a silver lining.  yes.  each and every one.  whether or not you squint to see it is the question.  but you must make yourself, because life is too short not to.  

sure, we are still upset and are trying to repair our ability to trust, but that does not give us a license to feel sorry for ourselves and to change our positive outlook on life.  i am not saying we are, by any means, thankful for being robbed.  no sirree.  the feeling of someone being in your home stirs up one's emotions and makes the deepest corner of one's soul feel very violated.  it's not a cool feeling.  but to be able to grab ahold of that silver lining and hold it close is such a beautiful blessing.  

we dedicated our lazy saturday yesterday to love, because love always beats hate.  we spent lots of time with each other.  with music.  and with laughter.  we made our bed with our new crisp white sheets and healed our wounds with lots of hugs in it.  we embraced the almost invisible joys in this unthinkable tragedy and are better people having gone through it.  or so i think. 

*and to our dear instagram friends who made us feel more calm that night, thank you.  your support and virtual hugs were so very much appreciated.  we love you.