To Lock, or Not to Lock?

Kevin called me about five minutes after he left for work this morning. I thought, Great, he forgot his lunch/badge/migraine medication and now I'm going to have to get dressed, get Harry dressed, find whatever Kevin needs, and drive downtown. But Kevin was calling to let me know about the multiple police cars just down the street.

Before having Harry I would have grabbed my cell phone and headed outside to see what was going on, but once you have a baby, I guess some smarter part of your brain kicks into gear and says, Hey, maybe taking your kid out by the police cars is a bad idea. So we played inside and I stole repeated glances out of the big window. . . Until 9, by which point Harry was going to play outside or scream until he lost his voice, whichever came first. (He brings you his shoes and says "Bues!" when he wants to go out. It's really cute.) I stuck my head out the door and asked a cop, who was now talking to my neighbor, if it was kosher to bring a baby outside for some fresh air. He informed me that two men broke into several cars on our street last night around 1, but all was well and outdoor play was acceptable. He also advised removing all valuables from my car and unlocking it at night to prevent would-be thieves from smashing the windows, but I think I'm still going to lean towards locking. Leaving the car locked, no matter this cop's logic, seems counterintuitive to me.

So much for living in the second-safest neighborhood in the city, huh?