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You may live there, but you’ll need to look at your home with fresh eyes to understand all of its access points, blind spots, vantage points, and tattle-tale floorboards. Take a tour of the place when you’ve got some time alone to better acquaint yourself.  Assess every door and window for viability as an entrance or exit. Consider the field of vision offered by all of the windows in your house. If another family member sees someone in their yard at 1:00 in the morning, they're likely to call the police—or recognize your partner and their intent. How old is your house? Older house are often noisier houses. Walking nearer to the walls or guard-rails on stairs helps keep the noise down, because there's not much else that can be done to stop those squeaking floorboards. Shaking talcum powder into the cracks of the floorboards offers temporary benefits, but will probably get you some weird looks from your parents.   Alarm systems will have to be deactivated before opening windows or doors, so you’ll need the code (and have an idea about how loud the system’s noises will be while you punch the code in). Be sure to re-engage the system after your partner leaves in the morning. Pets—dogs especially—will likely be a problem. Consider how they react to people entering your house, and what usually works for calming them down. Locking animals up in another room in an effort to block their interference rarely works well. Try training your dog to associate your partner with treats, by feeding them the treats the moment that they see your partner for several days beforehand. You should decide on the window or door beforehand so you can properly test and prepare it. Consider how visible the window is, how close it is to your parents’ room, and how far they’ll have to walk through your house before getting to the relative safety of your bedroom.  Determine how much you’d need to move, open, and unlock for the person to get inside at each of possible entry point. You’ll want to prepare the chosen site beforehand, but rearranging the potted plants outside your bedroom prematurely might draw suspicion. Think about the noise you'll have to make opening that window, pulling up its blinds, or turning a dead-bolt. Minimize these factors where you can. If it is a sliding door, make sure to open it gently. The sound of the door sliding could make noise and wake your parents up. If it’s a window with a screen, you’ll need to remove the screen. The ease of doing this depends on the screen’s construction, but many can only be removed easily from the outside, meaning second-story windows (and higher) are a no go. Ensure that you don’t damage the screen either, as this will give your plan away (and cost you some allowance). Don’t get in the habit of leaving windows or doors unlocked. They’re locked for you and your family’s safety, and your parents should have an accurate idea of the home’s security. Consider how much force might be necessary to pull a person in through the window, and whether you can safely exert this force. Fire escape ladders and basement windows are unique advantages to some houses. Fire escapes will help your partner gain access to higher-up windows, and basement windows are often far away from the master bedroom. It’s unlikely that you’ll use a door (it’s also, to be clear, less fun than crawling through a window) but don’t rule them out. Casually walk the route as though you’re sneaking in, without giving away to any onlookers that you’re pretend-sneaking. You should know roughly how long it will take your partner to get across the yard, through the access point, and from the access point to your bedroom once they’re inside.  Sometimes a longer course offers tactical advantages. Walking on carpet or rugs, for instance, is going to be quieter than tile, which is in turn going to be quieter than a path that takes you over hardwood floors.  Actually walking the path will remind you of any particular squeaky floorboards you’ll need to warn your nighttime visitor about. While outside, think about the sight lines that neighbors and traffic might have on your property. A well-meaning neighbor could blow your plans when they see your significant other sneaking through the shared alley between your two houses. You’ll want a hiding spot ready to go, both in your bedroom and near the access point. Leave a space in a closet, or clear out a spot beneath your bed. A messier room will give you more to work with (visitors could even, if you’re okay with it, bury themselves under your dirty laundry or sheets) but a suddenly messy room might raise suspicion. The darkness of an unlit house can turn every corner and cubby into a decent-enough hiding space, but don’t bet too much on your parents leaving the lights off when they’re investigating a suspicious noise. If their suspicion aroused, however, take comfort knowing that parents around 50 need twice as much light as even a 30-year-old to see in the dark.
Scope out your house. Select the entry point. Walk the path. Designate hiding spots.