He was waiting for her when she got off work. It was late, dark. She was tired and just wanted to get home and get some sleep. She glanced around as she headed for her car but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. So she slid into the driver’s seat, shook off the day’s grievances, and headed home. He pulled out from his parking spot and discretely followed at a distance. He had followed her home many times and he knew where she lived, that she always went straight home and lived alone, had no dogs, always followed the same procedure of parking, walking to the mailbox without looking around, then absent-mindedly walking to her front door glancing at her bills and junk mail. He knew her routine and tomorrow night he would be waiting for her.
Too many times we women get complacent about our surroundings, our coming and going without really paying attention. We’ve never been attacked or even threatened, so why would today be any different? We can’t always see the dangers lurking, but we can be prepared if they should materialize.
First of all, don’t always do everything the same as far as driving routines, walking or jogging times and routes, trips to the mailbox, the store, the dog park. Change it up. Take different routes, go at different times, drive a different route home from work, stop for groceries or run errands. Don’t always go home first and then run errands. You don’t know who might be watching from a distance, making mental notes, waiting for the right moment to attack.
When you’re walking to and from your front or back door or garage, keep your head up and your eyes and ears alert to any movement or sound that is not normal. The mail can wait until you’re safe inside. The worries on your mind or plans for the weekend can wait until you’re safe inside. Once you’re inside, lock the door immediately, especially if at night. If your arms are full of groceries, put your foot against the door to hold it shut until you can set the groceries down and lock it. Someone could be right behind you ready to push his way in if you aren’t alert and careful and prepared.
If this sounds a little overboard and impractical, consider the fact that it only takes one instant to change your life forever. Do you want to risk that one instant? That one moment when you later think “what if I had just been more careful?”
Taking safety precautions when you live alone is a matter of developing good habits like locking the door when you’re home alone, keeping curtains drawn at night, making sure windows are locked before going to bed, being attentive to your surroundings.
If you don’t have a dog, get an electronic barking dog that you can set to guard your home at night or when you are away. These devices can “see” through bricks, wood, glass, even cement to alert any intruder that you have a very large vicious dog just waiting to rip him to pieces should he step foot in your home. Even someone who has been stalking you and knows you don’t have a dog, will be surprised by the sudden noise coming from inside the house and will have second thoughts. No intruder wants to be alerted to his presence.
Another precaution to take when you live alone is installing some kind of home security system. There are several different types on the market from very expensive systems that are monitored by a company who will be alerted if the alarm goes off to less expensive systems you can easily install yourself. They are all very effective, setting off a loud alarm when a presence is sensed by a motion detector, or when someone tries to break through a door or window.
Having pepper spray on hand either in your car, in your purse or pocket or someplace handy inside the home is another self-defense option and precaution that should be considered. Anyone who has forcibly entered your home by any means will live to regret it when he is sprayed full in the face by the pepper spray you just happened to have attached to your back pocket. Temporary blindness and desperate attempts to get air into his lungs will give you time to escape and call police.
Living alone definitely has its good and bad points, but the main thing to remember is that you are the only one in control of your own safety. There are enough precautions you can take to ensure that safety so that being afraid to live alone should never have to be a reason for not living alone.