Heartsick
Last night Sam, Jake, Abby and I were riding bikes in the alley when our neighbors asked us to come over to play in the backyard. The kids were playing, the adults were sharing some wine. After an hour or so we parted ways and came home for dinner, baths and bedtime.
Fast forward to this morning. The first thing Bryon asks me is "Where is Jake's bike?" And sure enough, we either left it in the alley or someone took it from our backyard. I haven't told Jake. With him it's hard to tell if he flip his lid or take it in stride. The promise of a replacement bike will probably help.
All that said, this bothers me on so many levels. First, if we left it in the alley, which I think we did, it was clearly left by accident. It's not like we put it on the curb with a 'free for the taking' sign. Real life isn't finders keepers. On another level, is our alley full of people each night just looking for stuff to steal? And what bothers me the most is it's a kid's bike - a small one at that, with its training wheels still attached. I hope whoever took it is proud to be stealing a bike from a 4-YEAR-OLD. A bike he got for Christmas. A bike that matched his older brother's.
To top it off, this morning when I was asking Sam to help me retrace our steps to possibly find the bike, I whispered under my breath, "That bike cost $200." Sam's reaction? "Aha, there really ISN'T a Santa Claus."
On this of all days, it would really restore my faith in humanity if someone would call or knock on our door to let us know they saw the bike in the alley last night and held onto it until morning so no one would take it. Of all days, please.
Fast forward to this morning. The first thing Bryon asks me is "Where is Jake's bike?" And sure enough, we either left it in the alley or someone took it from our backyard. I haven't told Jake. With him it's hard to tell if he flip his lid or take it in stride. The promise of a replacement bike will probably help.
All that said, this bothers me on so many levels. First, if we left it in the alley, which I think we did, it was clearly left by accident. It's not like we put it on the curb with a 'free for the taking' sign. Real life isn't finders keepers. On another level, is our alley full of people each night just looking for stuff to steal? And what bothers me the most is it's a kid's bike - a small one at that, with its training wheels still attached. I hope whoever took it is proud to be stealing a bike from a 4-YEAR-OLD. A bike he got for Christmas. A bike that matched his older brother's.
To top it off, this morning when I was asking Sam to help me retrace our steps to possibly find the bike, I whispered under my breath, "That bike cost $200." Sam's reaction? "Aha, there really ISN'T a Santa Claus."
On this of all days, it would really restore my faith in humanity if someone would call or knock on our door to let us know they saw the bike in the alley last night and held onto it until morning so no one would take it. Of all days, please.
posted by Romine Family at 3:38 PM
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