wellness check gone wrong

early to rise

i’m an early riser, not by choice but because my pets want to be fed. so, usually, one of them wakes me up around 4:00 a.m. begging for food. i’m looking at you, cosmo!

after i’m done feeding the cats and walking the dog, i have a cup of coffee.

if i have a game in progress, i make a chess move and play wordle.

i also check my social media accounts and respond to text messages.

then i go back to bed and on july 27th, that’s exactly what i did.

off the grid

i get back in bed and listened to my audiobook for about 15 minutes because listening to people talk makes me sleepy.

after my 15 minutes is over, i ask alexa to set an alarm for 8:15 because it’s Thursday and I have to go into the office.

i turn my phone off. it’s not on do not disturb. it’s not on silent mode. it’s on off!

i haven’t slept well in months because of a pinched nerve, so i cherish any sleep i can get and i didn’t want the risk of being disturbed.

now rarely, do i turn my phone off, but it would only be for 2-2.5 hours tops, this should be fine.

the po po

my alexa alarm went off at 8:15 but i continued to sleep for a few minutes.

you know how that goes. what felt like a 5-minute snooze turned out to be a 2-hour nap. except that’s not what happened.

i only slept for 15 more minutes because i was awakened by a rapid knocking and banging on the door.

i sat up all confused and thought is someone at my door? i have a dog and she let’s me know when someone is outside or near the door, but she’s not barking. maybe she too was tired but i also have a doorbell and it never gets tired.

i jumped out of bed and yelled, “who is it?”

“west orange police.”

long pause. “ï’ll be right there.”

this is where panic sets in. i’m not properly dressed. i’m not wearing my glasses and i can’t find my clothes.

while i’m running around looking for my clothes and my glasses i’m thinking what did i do wrong? i’m also scared and i’m trying to hurry up because i don’t want the cops to become impatient and kick in the door.

no, i do not watch too much t.v.

is there a warrant out for my arrest? i don’t have any parking or speeding tickets.

where’s my car? did i forget to park it in the parking lot? i know one of the brake lights is out but that’s not a reason for the cops to show up.

finally, i walked down the stairs and opened the door.

“are you valerie morrison?”

ï look at one of the officers through squinted eyes because i never did find my glasses and my pupils haven’t caught up with the sunshine.

“yes.”

and here’s the moment of truth…

“we received a phone call to perform a wellness check because someone called and said they haven’t heard from you all morning, are you okay?”

it is 8:30 a.m. and the morning hasn’t even started yet for some, but okay. now my dog is barking. shut up, holly.

“well because i was asleep,” i said matter-of-factly. i’m annoyed but not threatening because…cops. no sudden movement.

“and my phone was off.”

“okay. if you want to know who initiated the call it was jolene (not her real name).

“i’m going to get jolene.”

i felt like i should have invited them into the house, but it’s not like the time my daughter called 911, hung up and a cop showed up at my door.

they really don’t need to come in and do a walkthrough. it’s obvious they checked and i’m well. mission accomplished. i thanked them and we said our goodbyes.

power on

after my wellness check was over, i needed a few minutes to calm down. i was literally shaking because i was so scared. cops give me the heebie-jeebies.

no, i’ve never been arrested or had any major problem with law enforcement. i just don’t trust them to treat me with any dignity or respect. that’s wrong of me, but i do not see them as a safe haven or one to call when i need protection. i expect them to lie.

i must say, west orange police have always been very respectful when they’ve had to visit my street asking residents to move their vehicles or when i see them dealing with the public.

in fact, the one time i visited the police station over a parking ticket, the seargent who helped me went over and beyond what he didn’t have to do that i sent him a thank you email. i’m 99% sure it made him cry. i will never forget his name (george lopez) or his kindness.

anyhoo, after i turned my phone on, i responded to jolene’s text messages and emails and said, “i’m here. i’m not suicidal. you watch too much t.v.“

i spoke with jolene the night before, but i did not text her good morning when i woke up the next day. i guess she’s not used to not hearing from me and with my phone being off she panicked. i didn’t give her any reason to be concerned, but she was.

i called her and she “yelled” at me for not being able to get in touch with me. she also called my mom and that phone call was almost as nerve-wracking as having the police show up on my doorstep.

final

i’ve received several different responses to this wellness check. i’m not sure i would have called the cops after not hearing from someone for a few hours, especially in the morning.

actually, i’m surprised the police even showed up to do a wellness check. doesn’t an adult need to be missing for 24 hours before they put out an BOLO? maybe i’m the one who watches too much t.v.

in the future, if anyone needs to have a wellness check done on me, please reach out to baked bouquet and have them do it. they will deliver the most delicious cupcakes ever and i promise you, they will ring the doorbell without scaring the heebie-jeebies out of me.