Crisis averted with super-sleuthing skills

(Due to the content of this blog, the location of the following events will remain anonymous.)

So, we’re in house #4, expecting to move into our final destination later today. That will be a relief to finally be in our own home. We are incredibly grateful to all of those individuals who opened their homes up to David, Allie, and I over the last several months. You have all contributed to making this “unsettling” time of our lives more comfortable than we thought was possible. Before it’s all over, I had to have one great story to take with me, and it took place this morning.

David left the house around 8:15 to head to a Willow Creek Conference for the day. Allie and I followed David out the front door to wish him off and let Allie take care of her morning “business.” Upon completion of said business, we turned to head back inside. But alas, the door was locked. So here’s the situation: I’m in someone else’s house (in the middle of nowhere), while they are on vacation, I’ve locked myself out of the house with no shoes, no phone, just a dog. So I proceed to make my way around the house to check all other doors only do discover what I feared and expected… they were all locked as well. What to do? After pondering for a few minutes (in a bit of a panic), I decided to go next door and ask the neighbor for her spare key (we’d met previously and I knew she had one). One problem, though; she wasn’t home. Now what? Fortunately I’d at least left my car unlocked the night before so I stepped inside to warm up a bit. At this time in the morning, it was a bit chilly and breezy and I was in my bare feet. I sat in the car for about the next 45 minutes, hoping that the neighbor would come home, and trying to figure out some other way to get into the house. And then I saw it…the keypad on the garage door. Surely there was no way I could accurately guess the access code, but I had nothing but time to give it a try. So I got out of the car and approached the keypad. My husband will tell you that I am typically not the most observant person; I tend to be pretty oblivious most of the time. But this particular time something caught my attention. There was one digit on the keypad that looked particularly worn. Upon further investigation, I noticed another digit that looked worn as well. Not quite to the extent of the first number, but none-the-less worn. So I concluded that the access code must consist of these digits, with a repeat of the first digit. I tried a couple of combinations and then noticed yet another digit that looked slightly worn as well. I pressed it next and heard the most beautiful sound follow. The garage door was opening! I’d actually done it! I guessed the access code to someone’s garage! I ran inside hoping and praying that the door to the house was not also locked and was very relieved when the handle turned and I walked inside.

While this strategy helped me gain access to a house I was allowed to be in, I am also reminded to be cautious. If I was able to figure it out, surely a criminal mastermind could figure it out as well. So all of you with keypads on your garage, take a look and see if your digits are becoming obvious through all of the wear. It might be time to reprogram your garage door…