So here's my story... a few weeks back my 3 year old, Samantha, got upset with Elizabeth because she didn't want to share her stuffed kitties. "But Mommy, I don't have a kitty to play with," she said tearfully. Being the loving and dutiful mother, I said "I'm going shopping today. Maybe I could look for a kitty that would be just for you...how would that be? What color do you want?" She replied, a bit brighter, "Pink". I'm thinking, pink? How am I going to find a pink kitty? "Well, pink might be hard to find...if I can't get pink, what other color would you like?" "Black" is the reply. So off I go in search of a stuffed kitty to mend her broken heart. I go to a store that has overstocks & discontinued stuff to look for an inexpensive pink cat...no luck, but there is a black & white one for $5, so I buy it just in case.
Later, at Chapters, I head back to the kids books section just to see what's on sale for Easter and lo and behold, there is a pink Webkinz kitty...so I bought it. When Samantha got home that afternoon I took her up to her room to show her the new kitty on her bed. She absolutely loved it...it was one of those "I did the right thing" Mommy moments. She decided to call the kitty Fluffy. Fluffy became the subject of many heated debates between the girls. Now Elizabeth was crying "But I don't have a Fluffy". Sometimes you just can't win!
Fluffy doesn't leave Samantha's side for the next week. She takes her to daycare and sleeps with her both there and at home. She talks to Fluffy in the car and sometimes she even shares Fluffy with Elizabeth. Then one day, Fluffy isn't in her cubby when I pick her up. We search the classroom, the beds, the cubbies, but Fluffy is gone. Being the positive thinker I am, I tell the teacher "Well, maybe it will come back tomorrow when they realize it's not theirs." I mean, we've taken things home in backpacks that didn't belong to us and returned them. After all, it did have her name written on the tag. But, I said to myself that I should have known better than to let her take a Webkinz to school.
However, 2 weeks later, Fluffy still hasn't returned. We've had many tearful nights..."I miss Fluffy"... "Where's Fluffy?", etc. So, we search for another Fluffy to replace the stolen one. The pink kitty is hard to find. In fact, the only place we find him, another week later, is back at Chapters and there is only one. Hoping to avoid a huge fight again, Daddy brings home Fluffy & Silky (a grey cat). There are still fights, but mostly the girls are just happy to have Fluffy back, although they are clear that this is a new Fluffy because the other one was stolen. And we made it clear to them that neither of the kitties would be going into the daycare.
Shoot ahead another month...to TODAY. I'm helping Samantha take off her coat and hang it in her cubby when I notice a pink webkinz kitty in the cubby across the hall from her. "Oh, that can't be hers, I think...I'll check when she goes into her room, but I'm sure they would have taken the tag off if it is hers." BUT NO! It clearly has Sam H on it...it is Fluffy! She's dirty, but she's there.
At first I was angry. Who let's their child keep a toy that came home from daycare with someone else's name on it? Don't they realize how upset a child could be when their "lovie" goes missing? Then I realize that the family that has "borrowed" Fluffy is an immigrant family who speak very little English...I'm starting to excuse them because of that... you know...maybe the parents didn't understand that it was stolen? Maybe they thought it was a gift? I don't know. When I mention it to Samantha's teacher she tells me that the child knows English very well and even if she didn't, they should have known better. So now I'm a bit angry again. The Executive Director is floored when I tell her I found it, and where. She agrees, they should have known better. I only really told the teacher and ED so that they would know what happened if the child was upset by her missing kitty at nap time.
I know, it's just a Webkinz, but it's the principle of the whole situation. So, I've got Fluffy at home now, waiting for a bath. When I call Dave to tell him I found Fluffy, and where, we start to feel badly for the little girl who is NOW missing Fluffy. We've already replaced Fluffy, he says, "Why not give the old one back to the girl?" I had thought the same thing, too, actually...but then what does that teach her? That stealing is ok? That people will forgive you and just let you keep what you stole? So, we're not giving her back the stolen Fluffy. But I feel sad for her.
So, to my original question, if you've made it this far...What would you do? I would truly like to know.
