It was about 3 o'clock in the morning when I suddenly was startled into conciousness by the presence of a small spotlight sweeping across the walls of our living room. In the moonlight, I could see the 6-foot frame of a young man in a trenchcoat, clutching a flashlight and examing the contents of our house. His other hand held something metallic, glinting in the silvery light. As my sleepy brain was immediately  and violently aroused, it stuck me that my home was about to be robbed by someone younger than me, bigger than me, and in possession of a firearm. Heart pounding, knees shaking, I crept to the phone, quickly called the police, turned on the lights, went to stand guard outside my children's room, and prayed.