Amygdalia's Blog

iPods and humanity

When I first discovered that Goldilocks’ iPod had gone through the wash, I wanted to run away. Seriously. I knew there would be dramatics on a par with the loss of a life. Okay, the first night, she stayed cool. Let’s try immersing it in a bowl of rice to draw any moisture out. We’ll do that.

Last night . . . the you-know-what hit the fan when she decided to see if it was working. Temper tantrum. Screaming and stomping and door slamming. “SOMEONE owes me $200! I will GET that $200 and I don’t care how I have to do it!”

Eventually I went into her room to have a chat. It was after 9 PM. Monkey was in bed, across the hallway.

I calmly explained to her that no one owes her anything. Who did she think would give her money to replace what she had spent on the iPod? Then I told her about the time when I was a freshman in high school, and had brought my purse to school, with $80 in my wallet. My wallet was stolen IN CLASS. It was found in a trash can a short while later, the money missing. Yes, I was upset. No, I did not expect that anyone was going to give me $80 to replace what had been stolen. It was a lesson learned. Do not bring wads of cash to school. If I happen to have wads of cash, which I rarely do, do not keep it all in my wallet. This is also something that I’ve been trying to tell Goldilocks for several years. Put your money in a safe place. If you go out, bring a little bit with you. The purse has gone missing a few times, full of cash. Thankfully, it has been found safe, each time. The iPod was not so lucky, hiding as it was in the pocket of her pants.

She finally got the message. I wasn’t BLAMING her for anything. I was telling her she needed to learn from the lesson, mourn the loss, and move on. That’s when she started sobbing like her heart was breaking.

What happened next, I never would have imagined.

I heard Monkey slip out of his room and head into the entryway. “Whatcha doing, bud?” He was supposed to be in bed.

A minute later I see him walking down the wall toward us . . . carrying the $50 bill that he had gotten for Passover. He gave it to her. She protested (not too strongly) and then they started crying and hugging one another. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen.

I think she felt guilty about taking his money, and I suggested that she slip it back under his door after he went to bed. I don’t think she did. *sigh*