"Sorry for your loss."

Those are the first words I heard when two police officers came to investigate a burglary at my home last month. A laptop was destroyed and incidental damage needed to be cleaned up, but that was about it. As far as I could tell, nothing else had occurred and nothing had been stolen. Nevertheless, the officers were sorry for my loss.

I appreciated the words, but even in that particular moment of shock, the phrase struck me as comical overstatement. I hadn't lost a loved one. The home's only other resident, nine-year-old kitty Sabina, had not been tragically victimized, forced to eat dog kibble or lap up skim instead of whole (as far as I could tell). When I heard the officer's words, I couldn't help but imagine a funeral viewing, and I felt embarrassed that the situation seemed to call for such grave language. Sorry for my loss?

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