Making your home safe
Home security is something that is extremely important to my dad. My parents got divorced a long time ago (well I was older, like just entering high school, but my sister was just born) and my dad used to work a lot so when my mom moved out we had a major security system installed in case we had to be left home alone or even with a babysitter.
Some people think our house it really cool because of the security system but I guess I have gotten used to it. We have automatic lights that turn on as you walk through our house and the doors lock automatically so that we can never forget to lock them. I think the part my friends like the most though is the security camera we have outside both of the doors and by the deck. The monitor is in my dad's office and we rarely even look at it (just in emergencies or sometimes even now when I am home alone) but it shows you who is at the door and screens all of the way down the driveway and across our property and then the other one screens and scans along the deck to see who is in the backyard or going up the stairs.
I think that a lot of people have security systems now in their homes, even though I think it was a lot more uncommon when we got ours years ago. It is funny though, because besides the doors locking automatically and having to use a code to get in, we rarely use anything else that has to do with it. But even though we don't use it, I think that just knowing we have a security system makes us feel a lot better. Knowing that if I was home alone and someone came to the door I would be able to see who it was or push a button and call 911 makes me feel more at ease (even though I have never had to do that in the past like 8 years). I also think that it makes my dad feel a lot better because even though we aren't alone during the school year really (and we're older now so we can be left alone) over the summer we are during the days sometimes and it makes him feel better knowing that someone (well something) is looking out for us.