Can I just scream? I really feel like it. Shrieking all over the house would be nice. Or yelling obscenities would work too. Kids are still up though.
Heres why.
My oldest (nearly 4) just opened the door for some guy. I had taken the dogs out back because were still watching Diamond to make sure she doesn't go rolling in yucky stuff. Well apparently Madd thought he'd just open the door for who ever this was that knocked. I had forgotten to lock the chain at the top when I came back in from taking a bag to the trash earlier.
The guy seemed nice enough, just down on his luck and looking to make some cash for rent by doing odd jobs, but jeeze!
So we just had a sit down talk about strangers. We've had them before but apparently not enough that he didn't think twice about opening the front door. I was nearly shaking trying to tell the guy I didn't have anything I could have him do around the house.
The guy backed off quickly when Lilly our newf mix came running toward the door as I did. Sometimes I wish she wasn't so aggressive toward the door, like when our friends come over, but I'm sure glad for her right now.
5 comments:
Oh, soooo scary! Glad it all ended up OK! We used to get lots of those little "house calls" when we were in LR.... some of them were extra sketchy.
oh, that is scary! I think you just inspired me to start having those stranger danger talks with my 4 year old. I have been recently thinking about it but deciding "na, he's too young!" I've changed my mind!
Oh, my goodness! You must have been scared to death!
When we lived across from UAMS, we had quite a few itinerants come to the door asking for work or food. My daughter was grade-school age then, and she has kind of an altruistic bent anyway. She wants to help everybody. I modeled for her: Let her see me ask the stranger to wait on the porch, locked the door, filled a lunch bag with tuna, apples, cheese, whatever. Then handed the bag out the door with a "God bless you." Strangers do not come IN. It was still really hard to make her understand that, no matter how needy someone looks, kids don't open the door to strangers. Kids have to wait for Mama.
(Not to be cynical, but I'll just add that no one who received a lunch bag from me ever came back for another. I guess they weren't THAT hungry. :)
We'd mentioned it to him before because he's just so dern friendly that he'd walk off with just about anyone I think. I just hadn't thought much about home because the dogs are nearly always in the house. If he were to open the door while I was say, upstairs and the dogs were in the house, Lily wouldn't let him get the door open (or would be chasing the person down the street.)
She's hit that door so hard when the mail man comes or when the paper boy drops off the paper (if they are new and don't know to toss it from the street, lol) that she's scared quite a few people into dashing. She's shaken it quite often.
Denise, Were across from UALR so not that far from there. This is actually the first we've had come up to the door though. I've seen the guys walking the neighborhood with their mowers, but they usually just yell over if I'm outside.
You know, I don't think they'd come back to my house for lunch either, lol. ^-~ I met a lady once who said she carries some non perishables in lunch sacks in her car so that when she sees someone sitting on the side of the road with a will work for food sign she just hands them one. Gets them off the street corner for a bit at least.
Oh sweetie, glad everything worked out ok. You must have been terrified. I know I would have been- as a matter of fact, that would take a while to get over. Glad you have a dog that's scary-ish!
I never really wanted to have the stranger talk with my daughter, but I wasn't happy that I'd left it for the school to do- they scared the poop out of her! Too much fear, not enough explanation for me. You have to find your level- and an open door is NOT IT!!!!
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