As it turns out...

... I enjoy target practice. Tom took me to the shooting range his gun club owns and had me shoot two handguns and a shotgun. I think the last time I shot a shot gun or a handgun was when I was in junior high school, and my dad made me practice some "Just in case."

Since then I have had no desire to be anywhere near a gun, although my sons enjoy hunting and Steve had to keep up his skills as a Marine.

But back in June we had an "incident" one night when Steve was away on a business trip and I was alone with our three youngest children. I think what we experienced was a failed home invasion ploy. Failed, because I called Tom (who lives behind us) and he swiftly came in through the back door with his Glock, and confronted the two men at the front door, who knocked on the door at 12:30 a.m. when the house was dark and everyone was sleeping. And who stood silently when they saw the gun. And whose companion in the car said they needed gas to make it to the gas station a half a block away.

Two weeks later an elderly couple in a town 40 miles from us had the same thing happen. But they were nearly beaten to death with a hammer and robbed.

Since then I've been thinking I wouldn't mind relearning how to use a gun, "just in case" I ever have to defend my children.