Little bumps in the night lately have had me 'on edge.' I'm sure there have always been noises at night like the ice machine in the refrigerator dumping cubes, wood floors cracking, freezer compressors making noises... Now that our dog Fatty has passed on and is no longer with us, I lack the security I once felt when I knew she always barked if someone knocked on the door. Often, I'm the only parent at home with the kids and now that my younger daughter works (and usually until late hours,) I am essentially home alone. I think I began feeling more insecure just this week when my daughter spent the night with a friend a couple nights (it's Spring Break.) Just knowing she was gone made it even more lonely. I can see why she 'gets scared' if we go out of town and leave her home alone (which we've done twice...hey, she's 18.) There hasn't been any safety (or rather non-safety) issues around my house, per se, but I think I'll check into more lighting outside the house. That reminds me, I haven't changed my smoke detector batteries lately (not since we moved here a year ago.) I need to add that to my list to make it more safe at home.