Sunday:

We’ve been back and forth to Florida dozens of times since 2005. The route is familiar and so is the concern for the home we leave behind in Michigan.

But as of tomorrow, our home will be PROTECTED! We’ve purchased a monitored security system which will be installed tomorrow. If anyone enters, the police will be advised (and so will we).

Previously I would post messages to this blog inferring that we were subscribed to a security system but that was just a way of deterring would-be thieves. But now we’ll be protected by high-tech motion sensors, entry alerts, sirens, and other ways of recognizing and protecting our home from intrusion. We’ll also be advised if there’s water in our basement or the heat is off.

Yes, it came with a pricetag but cheaper than we’d thought and we will rest much better. We also get a discount on our home-owners policy because it’s not just a security system but one which has 24/7 monitoring.

To be very honest, we don’t leave behind much of value when we head to Florida. We have no new TV sets (a couple OLD ones), no DVR devices, computers or anything else that burglars would want. I take all jewelry (most of it costume) with us. Anything we don’t take goes in our bank safety deposit box. And we sure don’t have cash laying around. (Note: In Florida, we don’t worry at all because we have closeby neighbors AND our community is GATED!)

Our Michigan home will be protected. And this time I’m not being deceptive.

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Monday:

The security system came!! It’s all installed. We have a few days to get used to having it in place before the alarms we trigger go to the central dispatch center and the police are notified. Right now it just sounds a loud siren but no one is summoned. (Eventually an even louder outdoor siren will be installed, but not during this test period.)

We’re sure it’s money well spent. John commented that we might never have a break in, but we feel it’s worth it for the peace of mind.

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Tuesday:

The alarm was armed when we went to bed and this morning Johh forgot when he opened the door and went out. Good thing the system is still in test mode so the central dispatchers weren’t notified because John had forgotten the passcode. Oh, well… It does work.

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Friday:

At 7:00 his morning I was rudely awakened by our new security system alarm. I figured John had forgotten that he couldn’t exit without disarming it. (He was outside when it sounded.) But come to find out, it was me!! We have a “panic button” near our bed and my pillow had accidentally pushed it. Needless to say, the button has been moved to a location that is more protected. It was worse than an alarm clock. (Thank heavens the new system is still in practice mode so the police weren’t summoned by the dispatch service and we haven’t installed the outdoor mega volume siren which would have awakened the whole neighborhood.)

We “activated” the system today but can continue to practice for a couple days. We’ll be notified when it’s truly up and running.