Patience always pays off.

For those who aren't aware, one of Zelda's sisters is living with us until she can get on her own feet. It's a daunting task, but one that serves our purposes as well. She is required to help with chores and watch the kids when we say so. She is only allowed to stay with us as long as we see she is useful to us.

Since her final exams, Zelda took it a little easy on her about the chores. I warned her against taking it easy on her. Don't give her an inch. She needs to grow up.

Now before she came to live with us, I used to lock ALL locks at night, including all deadbolts. When she started staying with us, things changed a little. Not sure why. She was decent at first, but then she started spending nights away from home.

So, I decided to start going back and locking all the locks at night. One night, I had to put the wet laundry into the dryer. I fell asleep watching TV so I woke up around 4:00 am. As I walked into the pantry where the washer and dryer were, I noticed 2 shadows in my back patio. They were male silhouettes. I quietly ran back upstairs and grabbed my pistol. I woke Zelda and told her to call the police because I saw 2 guys in the patio at the door. I ran back down and saw a male silhouette. I lined up the sights of the pistol on the shadow and took the safety off. As the shadow moved, so did my aim. Who is this asshole out there?

Zelda quietly ran down the stairs and asked me what was going on. I asked her if the kids were okay. She said they were fine. Then, Zelda's phone vibrates and her sister's name shows up on the caller ID. "Are you outside? Zelda asks."

Apparently, one of her friends followed her to the back of our house to see if she can get in. NOT SMART! If you don't belong there at 4:00 in the morning, don't go back there.