• Home
  • Cooking
  • Frugal Living
  • Home Management
  • Homeschooling
  • Real Life

The Happy Housewife™ :: Real Life

Where Martha Meets Real Life

  • Journal
  • Fit for Good
  • Kids
  • Fun
  • Military
    • My Deployment Journal
    • Making it in the Military
  • Disney
  • Archives

Ransacked…

by Toni Herrbach

0shares
  • Pin
  • Share

If you haven’t followed Our Story, you might want to start at the beginning.

I was happier than I had been in a long time while in Florida. My family didn’t have a lot of money either, but money doesn’t matter as much if you aren’t alone. 🙂

One day my entire family (parents, brother, sister and baby girl) headed about an hour away for my dad’s work party. We were going to be late for the party and my mom was not happy. We rushed out the door and didn’t bother picking up our “getting ready to leave” mess.

We spent the day swimming, eating, and riding SeaDoos on the river. It was awesome.

We didn’t arrive home until almost midnight and when we pulled into the driveway we noticed the front door was partially open.

We debated about what we should do, but finally we agreed that we needed to call the police. Within a few minutes the police arrived and entered my parent’s house. They were in the house for what seemed like an eternity.

They finally came out and told us there was no one inside, but that they believed the house had been broken into. They also said something about it being ransacked, but I kind of forgot that part because I was beginning to remember how we left it early that morning.

I’m sure my mother was mortified as we walked though the house. Clothes were everywhere, drawers were opened, the contents of my purse were dumped out on the coffee table and strewn all over the floor.

The problem… we made the mess. We were in such a hurry to leave we were the ones dumping things out, looking for sunglasses and car keys, changing outfits and not picking anything up.

Everyone thought it was funny…. everyone except mom.

Someone had broken into the house, but they never made it past the foyer. My parent’s little 20 pound blind and crippled dog scared off the intruders before they had a chance to find our treasures strewn all over the house.

I made a mental note to never again be so disorganized that my house looked like it had been ransacked while I was away.

A few days before I was scheduled to return to Virginia, Sailor called.

He had good news. We had been offered a house on base! My prayers had been answered. We would be able to live in the small base community. There was a playground and best of all… lots of families with kids! I could not wait to get back and start packing!

A few hours later Sailor called back. Given the type of things that happened to us in the past I figured we lost the house.

There was more good news. Sailor had been accepted into a commissioning program! He would spend the next three years going to college to become a nurse. We would have to pay for school, but the Navy would pay his salary.

I was stunned. Since the day we got married we had been focused on Sailor getting a commission. In fact in the week between Sailor asking me to marry him and us actually getting married, talks of him rejoining the Navy and getting a commission were frequent.

I mistakenly believed that a commission was the only way to solve our financial problems.

Nonetheless Sailor had been selected for this program and we needed to make a decision.

Do we give up the house on base, the job Sailor loved, and the beautiful mountains of West Virginia for a college degree, promotion, and pay raise?


0shares
  • Pin
  • Share

Comments | 7 comments

« 9.11.01: Where Were You?
Great Toys to Bring Camping »

Comments

  1. TiJa says

    at

    I think we have all had days where our house looked ransacked, but point taken ( you never know what could happen).

    Also, my hubby is currently going through a commissioning program via the Air Force. I must admit, I have fantasized that this promotion will be the solution to all things finance related in our lives…I have a feeling your story will change this notion ;P.

    Keep the chapters coming!

    Reply
  2. Amanda Y. says

    at

    Love the story, keep it coming!! I went through something similar with a mess but a very different outcome–we were in the midst of unpacking 3 weeks after we moved into my new house and it was broken into–but I think we’re fortunate the theives didn’t get as many things (mostly a laptop and some small things) since none of it was easy to find (i.e. jewelry wasn’t in the jewelry box on the dresser, etc.) and honestly, it helped justify my “I don’t like super organized houses” never dirty but unorganized? sure! lol

    Reply
  3. Serenity says

    at

    Okay…I am on pins and needles!!!! Can’t wait to see if your hubby becomes a nurse 🙂

    Reply
  4. Leah Cody says

    at

    Your kids will be so grateful for this one day. Thanks for your honesty and humor. I am a mom of 8 all under 11 and oftentimes getting ready in a hurry = our house looking like everything exploded!

    Reply
  5. Shirley says

    at

    We had a similar experience with the police when my children were small. They had two thugs handcuffed in our front lawn one evening when we drove up. The police insisted that they check out our house. I was mortified because up until our third child, my house was always in perfect condition – but after # 3, I was having trouble keeping up and adjusting to another baby in the house. My husband is the one that walked them through it and started to apologize for the mess, but then decided he’d act as if it was the norm! I have enjoyed your story – I read all of the others when you first wrote them so I’m glad you’re continuing them.

    Reply
  6. Gidget @ Homeschooling Unscripted says

    at

    I admit it – I read this before starting at the beginning but I am definitely going back to the beginning to get caught up. That’s a cool idea to write out your story – I bet you are remembering things that you didn’t even realize you would remember!

    Reply
  7. MarshaMarshaMarsha says

    at

    I love that you are writing your story.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




STAY UPDATED!

Get every article delivered to your inbox!

CONNECT WITH ME

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

My Latest Videos

Join our Fit For Good Challenge

Our Story

  • How I Came to Know the Long Haired Hippy
  • How to Have a Frugal Wedding
  • My First Attempt as The Happy Housewife
  • The Summer in Which I Became Frugal and Long-Haired Hippie ate Meat
  • Why I Should Have High-Tailed it Out of the Apartment Complex
  • Why You Should Never Let Long Haired Boys Take Your Daughters to the Airport

Military Deployment

deployment-series

STAY UPDATED!

Get every article delivered to your inbox!

FEATURED

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

By Toni Herrbach Leave a Comment

How to exercise when you have kids

How to Exercise with Kids

By Toni Herrbach 3 Comments

CONNECT WITH ME

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316

Privacy Policy

HOME | CONTACT | ADVERTISING & PR | DISCLOSURE | PRIVACY POLICY

© 2025 – TheHappyHousewife.com. All rights reserved. | Design by Joy @ Five J's Design | Site maintenance by Klong Designs