Our bedroom in the new house has a sliding glass door that leads to the back patio. It’s really convenient for when Rigby decides in the middle of the night that she needs to pee, but otherwise I don’t really care for it. Because, confession: I hate big windows when I can’t cover them up at night. The idea that (thanks to the indoor lights) I can be seen clearly from the outside by someone hidden in the darkness completely creeps me out.
Mike makes fun of me for this – he says it’s irrational, especially in this case when the window only looks onto our backyard. Our backyard is private. It’s mostly hill, so no one can look onto our patio from the back or sides. That helped calm my fear a bit. Still, it was my goal to get a curtain up over the glass door before we started sleeping in there. Not surprisingly, there were about 187 more important things the house needed, so I didn’t get a curtain or curtain rod.
We slept in our bedroom for the first time on Monday night. I woke up a zillion times, but refused to roll over and face the door because I was so convinced that William Shatner’s monster on the wing would be staring back at me. I woke up yesterday morning and no bogeymen had burst through the door, so I relaxed and jumped in the shower.
As I got out, something caught my eye. I looked toward the slider and there, to my absolute horror, was a face pressed up against the window.
Here is an almost exact recreation:
I screamed louder than I have ever screamed in my life. The person outside also screamed. It was ONLY THEN that my damn stupid dog, who barks at ANTS, decided to get in on the noise-making action. The person in the backyard took off running. I turned and ran into the family room, where Mike and Annie were having a hearty “Elmo vs Abbie” discussion. He hadn’t even heard me.
Me: Someone! In the backyard! Against the window! Saw me naked! Saggy!!!
Mike: ….What?
Me: SOMEONE WAS IN THE BACKYARD BUT NOW THEY ARE IN THE FRONT SEE WHAT THEY WANT OMGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
Still having no idea what was going on, Mike went into the front yard. I realized I needed to get dressed when Annie pointed and said, “Boobs.” Where does she learn these words?
Mike came back a few minutes later. Apparently, a husband and wife thought the house was still on the market, even though there is no for sale sign or lock box in the front of the house. Instead of, oh, I dunno, RINGING THE DOORBELL, the guy just decided to walk around the house.
Me: Did you tell him he’s scarred me for life? And that he’s an idiot?
Mike: Nah. I told him it was cool, and that there’s another house for sale up the street.
Me: You told the man who broke onto our property and saw me naked that he could live up the street?!
Mike: Um…yes. I didn’t really think it through.
Me: I’m going to be in therapy for the rest of my life!!!
I’m buying curtains tomorrow. AND a lock for the gate.
Kate @ UpsideBackwards says:
Oh, how scary! You poor thing!
(and just quietly, how hilarious!)
Veronika says:
How scary! I’m glad it wasn’t a pervert, but how weird! You don’t just walk around a house like that. I’m totally with you. Windows and doors need to be covered. Otherwise it’s just creepy.
Amy says:
OMG!!!!! I would have had the same reaction!!
Nelly says:
I have the exact same irrational fear, but replace big window, with just the regular bedroom door.
I cannot under any circumstances leave the bedroom door fully open so I can see out of it from the bed! The dark corridor starts playing with my brain and I swear I see people lurking! I am mercilessly mocked for this by my boyfriend, although not as much as when I ask him to check inside the wardrobe. I may have issues.
Hope the unpacking and settling in is going well, cannot wait to see more of the house! I am super nosy.
Rachel says:
I’m the same way with my closet door! LOL. I have to have it closed at night. In case the monsters come out!
Jenn says:
OMG!!!! That would Freak me out too!!! Poor girlie!!! I bet jumping like you probably did & screamming like you did, did your back WONDERS…eh???
I had patio doors in my room when I was a teenager. Cool when we wanted to have late night pool parties & sneak out but otherwise, I hated it too…..Especially when my friends would knock on my doors in the middle of the night or 5:00 a.m. after they pulled an all nighter and wanted a bed to crash in!
Still…I would MUCH rather a friend be knocking on my door then that “CLUELESS IDIOT “who was caught peeking into your doors!!!
Hope you’re able to sleep tonight, if not…looks like it’s gonna be a llllooonnnggg night….for MIKE!!! You didn’t think I was going to say for you, did you??? YOU NEED YOUR REST MY GIRL!!!….YOUR PROBABLY STILL IN A STATE OF SHOCK AFTER THE DUMB ASS ATTACK!! YES????? Relax….and play this for all that it’s WORTH!!! ha ha
Julia says:
Completely with you on this one. I can feel my heart racing just reading about what happened! You definitely need a lock for the side gate and then the curtains – maybe give the therapy a miss this time around but save this episode for when you do hit the therapists couch.
So glad you have Annie, a new house and a zillion other things to do which will take your mind off it x
katrina @ They All Call Me Mom says:
Oh my gosh Heather!! He saw you naked? Seriously, that’s awful. AWFUL. Not that he saw you naked (although that’s awful for you, not so much him – the perv) but awful that Mike didn’t run after the guy and kick some ass. My husband would, for sure! FOR SURE! In fact, MY husband would have covered that window the moment we turned the key in the lock on that first day home….IF ONLY for the slight possibility that some guy would LOOK IN and SEE ME NAKED!!
I don’t care if there are hills and valleys and a vast ocean behind that uncovered window — get that thing covered!
Mike….tsk, tsk, tsk….take care of your woman, man…what’s the matter with you! and I say that with love. kinda.
By the way….William Shatner’s “monster on the wing” Twilight Zone episode is the sole reason why, when flying at night, I will NEVER EVER EVER look out the window if I’m sitting by the wing. NEVER. I just can’t. I can’t!
Katrina
They All Call Me Mom
Amy K says:
Kick his ass…for thinking the house was vacant and accidentally seeing something he didn’t intend to see? That’s very caveman.
Brandy says:
That would have FREAKED me out – BAD! I’m sorry you had that happen – how awful!
I absolutely HATE big windows too, or really any windows that don’t have coverings at night. I also do NOT like people seeing me when I can’t see them. We have a patio door on the back of our house and giant panels covering them, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to come downstairs at night. Seriously.
Jackie says:
LOL “He can’t unsee” LOL I’m sorry.
Jackie says:
Oh, PS, I am WITH you on the window covering thing. I completely understand and agree you should’ve had curtains before you slept there.
Sherri says:
I WOULD HAVE FREAKED!! OMG!
Our bedroom has a sliding glass door that leads to the sunroom which, of course, is all windows to the backyard. When we moved in we didn’t have anything on the door either, and in addition to the whole boogeyman/pervert neighbor issue, it was way too LIGHT. For the first year we NAILED an old comforter up over the door. It worked just fine, thank you. It would probably still be hanging there 13 years later except my parents had mercy on us and bought us some blinds for the door. (Thanks mom and dad.)
Good luck! Lock the gate for sure! YIKES!!
Cathy K. says:
The trauma! I don’t think there are too many women out there who won’t agree that someone peering in the window and OMG a stranger seeing them naked isn’t traumatizing. I’d say a really nice curtain is in order.
Mindy says:
That is terrible. I’m with you! All windows and door in our house have curtains or blinds on them and they all must be closed when it is dark. My husband thinks I am a little nuts too. Did the man appologize….. for you know, sneaking into your backyard…. peeking in your window…. and seeing you NAKED!?
Kimberly says:
Similar experience, also in California. Just bought the house, but we were painting and cleaning before moving our furniture in. An older woman and her adult daughter walked in the front door and started looking around. Me: “can I help you?” “Oh, we were just looking around” Me: “This house has been sold, to us, it isn’t on the market any longer” Apologies all around. That’s when I started locking my screen door.
Deirdre says:
Well, thank you for bringing that episode of the Twilight Zone back into my memory. I won’t sleep for a week now. But seriously, I’m sorry you went through that. I would be freaked out too.
I know you just moved in and probably aren’t up for doing major projects but down the road, you may want to think about replacing your sliding glass door with ones that have the blinds built into the glass. Pella makes them and Jeldwen too, I think. Got them for my house and they’re much less cumbersome than drapes. Or you could put in French doors, which are easier to cover. Just a thought.
Sue says:
OOPS,,,I left my comment on the wrong pic,,,,,sorry Annie & Rigby.
You definitely need to get curtains for that door NOW, Heather! What an idiot that guy was. Could the absence of a for sale sign possibly have been a clue that the house was SOLD! Maybe Mike should have been the one getting out of the shower, as the stranger LADY was peeking in the door, then we could find out if he still thought it was no big deal!LOL
Mary Ann says:
You are too funny that was hysterical! I feel the same way about uncovered windows, as soon as the sun starts going down the blinds, shades, curtains or whatever need to be closed before I turn on the lights – I am not an exhibitionist and a lot saggy myself. That was so creepy I hope Annie’s BFF doesn’t end up being that guys kid – I would have to move. Mike HANG A CURTAIN ROD ALREADY!
Monica says:
OMG! I so would have freaked out! If no curtain, put up a blanket.
Shannon says:
Okay:
A. “Monster on the Wing”: I realize that since the production of that episode of the Twilight Zone, much more high-tech special effects have been invented to create horrible creatures in CGI and whatnot, but NOTHING will ever be scarier than that low-budget monster on the wing with his creepy black and white makeup.
B. The people across the street from us are selling their house, and I frequently see people wander around their property. What is wrong with these people?
C. My mom told me that, right after my brother was born, she heard that getting some sun on your bare breasts would help soothe breasts that were sore from breastfeeding. So she went out in the backyard, which had a fence and all that, topless. That’s when the guy from the gas company let himself in to check the meter.
Barbara says:
OMG you couldn’t make the things that happen to you in real life up if you were writing a book. You and Mike should option for a reality show I’d be your biggest fan and start a fan club and everything.
Rachel says:
This. I would totally watch a Spohrs reality show! Heather, you crack me up. But when I first read the beginning of the post and saw your re-enactment photo (hadn’t read the caption) I thought the stick man had been drawn on the glass with shoe polish by Mike as a joke and laughed my butt off. This is the juvenile way my mind works! X-D
Panni says:
I thought so too.
mp says:
Horrible all around. That freakin’ scary movie reference. The peeping Tom. The uncovered windows. The invitation for, at best, an idiot but, at worst, a criminal to live down your street. Forget the therapist–you need a day at the spa!
Elle says:
Duuuuuuudddeee… Mike…. not good.
rachel says:
Curtains immediately. I totally agree with you. I shut all the blinds and curtains at my house AS SOON AS it’s dark. I am totally creeped out by unseen strangers potentially watching me.
Only in Louisiana ~ documenting the adventures of life! says:
This is one of the funniest stories I have read in a while….and I needed a pick me up today! Thank you!
Penbleth says:
How horrible, just what you need in a new house, although I suppose no new house is truly home till something you’d have rather avoided has happened. Time to buy some curtains and make Mike pay, he should have been more sympathetic and indignant.
Nancy Smego says:
Wow! I would be freaked out too but I gotta tell you, I almost spewed coffee out my nose at your re-created picture. You are too much! LOL . Get those curtains and hide the for sale sign down the street for a few weeks until the peeper finds a house somewhere else. Let’s say New Jersey?
tonya says:
Oh, my God, that is funny. I mean, I’m sorry you’re traumatized and all, but seriously, that’s a small price to pay for such a hilarious story. For all of us, anyway. I have laughed for two hours since I read the post. Slap a sheet over that door!!
And Rigby’s response, or lack of, is priceless. It reminds me of all of our worthless dogs about a year ago when we had someone break into every car on our street. EVERY home has at least one dog. Boxers, a border collie, labs, retrievers, a GREAT PYRENEES, you name the breed, we’ve got it covered. And this group of pooches BARK, let me tell you. At the train, at cats, at bunnies, at a kid on a scooter, at each other barking. The great pyrenees alone sounds like a monster from a cheap terror movie with his deep, moaning bark. But the night there was a drugged, crazed idiot breaking into all the cars, digging through spare change cups and setting off car alarms one after another at 1 am? Not. a. peep. A car alarm woke up our widowed neighbor who found this moron looking into her glass front door, appearing to be contemplating coming in. As all of our barky furry friends were settled into deep slumbers. Probably exhausted from a hard full day of barking at squirrels.
Adrianne says:
OMG, I am the EXACT same way about windows. If there is a window (I don’t care what it’s facing: backyard, front yard, side yard) it needs to be covered at night! I used to nanny for a family that had a huge wall of windows in their living room facing the backyard (with no curtains!), and I couldn’t stand to be in there at night.
I can’t even imagine how much worse the fear would be if I ever actually saw someone looking in!! Ewww. Get thee to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and buy yourself a curtain STAT! Or send Mike, either one:)
Steph says:
why is it that husbands don’t hear their wives screaming for dear life when they are only a room or two away? we are truly on our own.
Kim says:
That’s infuriating! You don’t skulk around a yard to see if a house is on sale! How rude. Dude, there’s no for sale sign, house is not for freaking sale! Jerk! There should have been some major apologizing.
Jen L. says:
Oh, my goodness gracious . I really, REALLY hope they don’t buy the house up the street, for all your sakes. Sorry you had stranger danger!
Pattie says:
Run. Run to the nearest home store and buy curtains and a rod ASAP. Funny story, but I’m with you — I’d be scarred for life. I live in fear of someone coming into our fenced backyard, and none of the back windows even look into our bedroom.
Brittany says:
Very scary! I’d definitely want curtains, but I would want something less opaque for daytime hours to still get some sunshine. A girlfriend of mine sent me the link to this DIY project: http://www.curbly.com/diy-maven/posts/11033
I think I might try it on my sliding glass doors in my rental. They have those gross vertical blinds over them right now, so maybe I could unclip those and frost the glass with a pattern instead.
Kristin says:
This is hilarious. Hasn’t this happened before? I remember reading a similar post about someone coming in a door while you were naked. LOL
You are having quite the luck with this new house. Get a curtain up asap. And good grief I hope those people don’t become your neighbors. Mike sounds like he’s too nice a guy sometimes.
Steph says:
yes, i think it was when they tripped an alarm and the police came:) and looked in the window.
Kylee says:
I feel the same way about windows! I close ALL my curtains at night. If they are open at night I feel like they are watching me! AWW I feel your pain!
ldoo says:
I just laughed so loud in my office while reading that. “Saggy!” Ha! And “He can’t unsee.”
Man, still chuckling. Although I am sorry for what you endured. Someone staring back at me from the window is my biggest fear.
Reese says:
Oh my goodness, Mike was obviously more than willing to defend your modesty, wasn’t he? And what a weird guy to go around peaking in all the windows after the for sale sign is gone! Poor thing! These men obviously do not understand the gravity of what has happened.
ememby says:
So this is also my own fear in life, I used to sit paralyzed with fear in my parents living room if it was dark outside and I thought I saw movement in the window (I never actually did). Then I would think about it some more and continue to sit there, not moving.
And I totally wouldn’t want to live down the street from someone who saw me naked.
PattyB says:
I second Rachel’s suggestion. While I definitely can identify with your fear, the way you described the incident had me laughing hysterically. You certainly have a certain flair for storytelling, Heather. The craziest stuff happens to you! I would absolutely watch a Spohr reality show as well.
My fear came from a story my Mom had told me about an incident she had with a stranger in her bedroom window one night, only the creep was a peeping tom. Ever since I heard that story, I always make sure my windows are covered at night. I have 5 daughters, so you just can’t be too careful.
Nanette says:
I’d DIE, Heather.
I have an extremely irrational fear of catching someone looking into our living room via the giant sliding glass doors, but since we live on the 2nd floor, I envision it as that scene in the movie “Signs,” where Mel Gibson looks up and sees an alien silhouette on his roof.
AmazingGreis says:
Team Curtains!!!
Also, I totally LOLed at my desk when I read this.
And I could totally hear Annie saying BOOBS in my head!
moll says:
WHY did Mike tell this creep-o that there was a house for sale near you? You could be NEIGHBORS now. His creepy daughter (because creepy is a dominant gene, y’know) could be Annie’s maid of honor someday.
But in all seriousness, who would look in a bedroom door to see if a house is occupied or not? After the for sale sign is down? Ughh you are some sort of a rude, clueless stranger magnet, you poor thing.
Crista says:
Oh my gosh!! Only you Heather, lmao!
I don’t do uncovered windows, either. I totally don’t understand how some people don’t cover their living room windows.
Amy Collen says:
Nude Heather + windows without curtains = strange guy undoubtedly peering in. First the police officer and now this. What are the odds? Didn’t this happen within like 6 months? Like moths to a flame :). So funny!
Molly says:
creeeeeeeeepppppyyyyy!!!!!!!
Laura says:
“He can’t unsee” = GENIUS. Freakin hilarious. Sorry for your trauma but you gave me the biggest laugh I’ve had in awhile so I thank you. Too funny.
Cheryl says:
I used to babysit for people who didn’t have curtains on their front windows. Totally creeped me out, especially the night that I kept getting crank calls late. I ended up going to the back of the house (where there were blinds) and sitting on the phone with my mom for 2 hours since I was so scared (I was only 16). Needless to say I never babysat for them again.
Hope you recover from your trauma….maybe have 2 glasses of wine (sleep better as well!)
Stacy says:
I’m sorry for laughing at your trauma, but good lord that made me laugh! I am JUST as paranoid as you! We have the same type of window and I don’t even leave the blinds open while I’m watching tv at night because I don’t like the thought of my back neighbors staring at me! Go get some curtains or blinds STAT! And some vodka!
Megan@TrueDaughter says:
You have more accidental nudity in front strangers moments than anyone else I know! Sorry, but it’s kinda funny. Have to say though – what in the world is with the guy thinking he could just look through the windows???? That is just plain absurd! Good lord – talk about an obliviot!
Jenny says:
Mike’s response = Not Winning!!
Too bad you don’t have a surveillance camera.
If I was trying to peek into an empty house on the market I’d start with the front. Upon seeing furniture, I’d make tracks! I wouldn’t walk around back to spy on the naked lady!
And if I got caught I’d burn rubber out of there! Why was the creeper still in the front yard when Mike came outside after your story?
WTF??
amourningmom says:
Very creepy and scary.
Amanda M. says:
That might be the most horrifying thing I laughed at all month.
Heidi says:
what. the fuck. NO SIGN and they still just walk around peering in windows? even if there isn’t a sign you shouldn’t do that unless you’re 1000% sure it’s vacant. he didn’t notice any of your belongings through any of the other windows? what a moron. i’m totally enraged on your behalf.
maria says:
OMG! Nail up a sheet over that door until you get a curtain!!
Elizabeth says:
I just freaked out for you! That’s one of my biggest fears!! I can’t believe someone would do that, even if the house was still up for sale. Fingers crossed that they DON’T buy the house up the street!!!
Jessica Makuh says:
You guys are so funny! I just love reading what happens in your life.
Adria says:
OMG I have this EXACT. SAME. FEAR. Thank you for both making me feel normal and FREAKING ME THE EFF OUT!!!
Becca_Masters says:
oh dear lord!!!!
on the start of our honeymoon my husband and I got a sleeper train from London to Glasgow, I woke up and was getting changed out of my pyjamas, I’d pulled off my pyjama top, when my husband decided to open the blinds at the station the train had stopped in. On the platform next to our window was a family of 6 people staring at my bare boobs. I literally did scream at my husband to shut the damn blinds. those poor kids with the family are probably scarred for life after seeing me with no top on, boobs hanging freely whilst wearing a pair of spongebob square pants pyjama bottoms.
Rachael says:
Oh my GOD. That would have freaked me the hell out too! I also hate big windows with no covers. I just don’t like it when it’s dark out and I can’t block the outside…