Grand Theft

I'm honored that so many of my readers are enjoying this blog (I do have a big family). It's a joy to write. A true surprise for me is that, not only do others like reading it, they actually care what I write! What a blessing. This blog likely won't reach extensive or international readership, so I think I can take a risk and put this out there: We take things that don't belong to us. And I won't lie: it's sometimes not intentional.

Just this afternoon I looked into the diaper bag to retrieve Rosie's outfit from yesterday, and found we have heisted a bible from our dear General Practitioner's office, albeit a display copy and one the office likely got for free. I'm not sure when it happened. Was it Monday when we were seen urgently because of a potential burst eardrum? Or was it Tuesday for two sports physicals, in two separate rooms, and I was distracted with 6 additional children in tow who weren't supposed to join me. And technically it wasn't a real Bible bible, but one of those Bible Story books with the "I Want To Purchase The Entire Reference Library" postcards tucked inside. The cards were all gone, but I swear we didn't take those. (And can I add, our doctor and staff are WONDERFUL).

Even small children can grasp the concept of respecting ownership and property. Just ask any verbal 18 month old who can articulate the word "MINE." Maturation and development help some when a child can sit in front of a TV long enough to watch an episode of Dora The Explorer. In my opinion, one of the most endearing characters on this Nickelodeon show is a bandit masked fox who pounces on the belongings of others. Everyone in the living room has to yell out loud "Swiper, No Swiping! SWIPER, NO SWIPING!!!", to which the little sly guy then hangs his head, snaps his fingers, and says "AWwww, man!" There's obvious disappointment in not getting what you want, but in real life you can't always take what you want either. Thanks for reinforcing that life lesson, Dora.

Today I heard Finan maneuvering what sounded like some heavy equipment into the back door, and my radar was up. Here is a "just turned" 3yr old successfully hauling into my kitchen a 5 foot-freestanding-adjustable-Fisher Price-basketball hoop, and dragging it across the wood floor to set up in the living room. All this, despite the "No Basketball Playing In The House" rule. To make matters worse, this is a basketball hoop I've never seen before. Recalling the abundant sports equipment owned by the two little boys next door, I was quite sure of the source of this particular apparatus. He's always sneaking over there anyway.

I reprimanded our child and explained that we just can't take things from the yards of other people. When he said, "It's MINE" I was quite sure this was a throwback to the distant memory days of when he was two... a week ago. "I know you like this, honey, but it's not ours," and I hauled that hoop back to the neighbor's garage door, relieved to find the garage door locked and thankful that Finan did not have breaking and entering to add to the infraction. Would you believe this scenario was repeated no less than two more times! What an insistent little boy!

To our credit, we also leave things that DO belong to us, like frayed storybooks under church pews, one sock on a grocery store floor, and half-filled sippy cups of milk. (My apologies if you are the one who finds it a few days later). But I need to add one more note about today's events, especially since I do have such a small, but devoted, readership: Kel's afternoon Status Update phone call filled me in on one little detail not previously mentioned. He lifted that basketball hoop out of a pile of garbage set out for pickup at the end of our street. He said Finan loved it when he presented it last night.

"AWwwwww, Man!"



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