Another time, the only time as an adult I've been burgled, my sister came to visit while I wasn't home to find my ranch slider had been smashed and my garage door slightly open. The scariest part was that police believe my sister disrupted the burglar, who was likely to still have been in the garage when she arrived.
As an adult I was probably more aware of "what could have happened" had she not left when she did and conscious of the fact that the burglar may have "missed out" on something they liked and could return, leaving me feeling unsafe in my own home.
This week, we revealed when you're most likely to be burgled in Tauranga and Rotorua.
The new data found Saturday afternoon and the early hours of Sunday were the most common time for burglars to strike in Tauranga, and in Rotorua burglars were targeting homes on Sunday afternoons and evenings.
To avoid falling victim, people are advised to lock their doors and windows, and police have also suggested people engrave their items with their driver's licence number as a form of protection.
But the fact that we have to take measures to protect ourselves and our belongings from strangers in our own home is such a ridiculous normal that we have become accustomed to.
While we shouldn't have to take preventative measures to ensure our private space hasn't been invaded, the sad reality is that we do ... all because some entitled person feels as though another's belongings should be theirs.
I can empathise with people who are truly in situations where they feel they have no other option but to steal to survive, but making people feel unsafe in their own home is not the answer.
Possessions can be replaced but emotional scars can be harder to heal.