I had a thought tonight. As I stood in the mostly darkened kitchen, I reached into the cabinet to get a cup for water. I realized I knew by feel which cup I had picked up and that I’d rather get one vs another. From there, I got to thinking about the skill of knowing your way through the house without illumination.
We have several children and someone has a bad dream or falls out of bed or wants moral support in the bathroom or whatever fairly often. I also have trouble sleeping during the traditional nighttime hours. This is what allows me to blog, though. I can’t have a complete thought, much less write a complete sentence when everyone else is up and calling for me.
But I digress.
Moving By Moonlight
What I was thinking is how often I walk through the dark house and yet unconsciously know my right hand will encounter the back of a particular chair a certain number of steps into the room and so on.
This is nice for keeping my big toes unbroken, but really it is a more important skill than that.
- What if I hear an intruder? I think I will proceed quietly to check it out with my pistol in the dark. I will have the advantage.
- What if our house loses power and my bedside flashlight is burned out? I can quickly maneuver through the house without breaking my neck to find another light source.
Can you think of any more? Have you ever practiced this skill?
Strangers In The House
As an aside, have you given any thought to your criteria before shooting in the dark? I’ve thought about this, especially when Joe is away. It occurred to me that all of my children are below a certain height right now. Not only would that hopefully mean I would not accidentally shoot one of them, but it also means a head shot to a would-be assailant if I hit my mark. Unfortunately, this is something I think I need to consider.
PreppingToSurvive.com 
September 9, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Get one of those little strobe lights that go on your weapon. when you are ready to take the shot turn it on so you can make sure you want to pull the trigger and blind the intruder at the same time. The strobe shocks and confuses the intruder long enough for you to make the decision. Just a thought…
September 9, 2011 at 4:25 pm
Thanks for that thought, Subtac. We should look into that.
I’ll admit that weaponry is Joe’s area of interest and expertise and I don’t know as much as I should. I try to make sure that I know how to operate all our guns and that I’m a reasonable shot, but I don’t enjoy them like he and our oldest son do.
While they are thinking, “Man, did you feel the power of that!?” I’m really thinking, “Man, did you see how I almost ended up on my butt?!” They are extolling the virtues of cutting a tree down with repeated gunfire and I am thinking, “Hey, I liked that tree…”
September 12, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Hahahaha! Yeah, I like collecting firewood like that. 🙂
Actually, subtac, she’s a great shot. A point I keep in mind any time I come home after dark. I make sure to announce “Honey, I’m home!” and keep my hands up.
Joe
February 6, 2012 at 7:21 am
Reblogged this on thebigdealinskb.
February 6, 2012 at 7:27 am
Some thought provoking information! You are so right and in St Kitts ( Caribbean) where the electricity is always going, we should familiarize ourselves with our surroundings…just in case
February 6, 2012 at 8:49 am
I’m glad you found it helpful.
Something else I should have mentioned in the original piece is the importance of keeping things neat and orderly. Just the other night, I was walking through the house in the dark and fell over a box of things that was headed to storage. Not only would that obviously have given my location away, but I hurt myself and ended up on the floor, which would put me at a disadvantage.