OT: Need to vent...LONG

If it had gone through the post office it would actually be tampering with the mail which is a serious federal offence. I wonder if that applies to UPS packages though. I'm just glad you were able to get if all back! I guess you'll have to spend some time rewrapping it all! Like you don't have enough to do! On the plus side, and yes there is a plus side to this, you did get it before Christmas and it didn't get totally lost!

Big hugs, M-C

Vent away.

Not to be a GRINCH or a Baa Humbug but I'd file a theft report with the police department as they STOLE YOUR ITEMS not their neighbors items.

You can prove what items are missing based on your folks receipts. It just might scare them into submission.

I'm sorry they don't know the meaning of the season let alone IF IT ISN'T YOURS DON'T TAKE IT.

God bless your neighbor for at least holding on to the things that were left. the kids probably didn't take the CD player as it would have been too hard to explain to their folks as to where they got it but a bag of little stuff they could hide. In their minds it is a 5 finger discount.

Hugs,

Kate

Oh Deb, I can so understand you feelings. You can vent here anytime. Just remember that someday those kids will get what's coming to them. It will come back around to them!

At least you got back most of the box, the things made by your DM are the most treasured. Big HUGS!

What a disappointment for you and your family. As MC said at least you got most of the stuff back.

When we were kids the post office delivered a package for a next door neighbor. My younger sister who was about 10 at the time opened it and it contained this big make up kit. She hid it under her bed and got rid of the box. Of course since she wasn't a seasoned criminal she didn't think ahead and realize that my mom would ask where the heck she had gotten all that makeup that she painted herself up with. (thinking back on it it was rather funny, she had baby blue eye frosted shadow about a half inch thick on and bright red lipstick LOL). She was better at stealing than she was at lying and said that I gave it to her to which I replied that I did not. Finally she confessed and my mother beat her ass and then took her over to our neighbors house. My mom and sister apologised and my mom made her pay for it (my sister doesn't like to be parted from her money). My mom made her wear the makeup to apologise to our neighbor and made her keep it on until my father came home and then he gave her the "I am so disappointed in you" speech which is ten times worse than any slap that my mother could give out. The good news is that she learned her lesson and is a law abiding citizen today. ;o)

It was a lousy thing to do but they are kids and kids sometimes do stupid things.

Deb I'm sorry this happened to you. I don't understand why people can't leave things that don't belong to them alone. At least you have the things your mom made and the other things can be replaced. Hopefully those kids will learn their lesson.

OH my Deb! Im glad you got most all of it back and before Christmas, at that! You are very lucky that lady was nice enough to hang on to it. I hope the children that took it will learn their lesson someday.... Try to make the best of it Deb, and be thankful you do have the package after all! :-)

Linda

I don't care if they're kids. They need a good scare put into them, and a visit from a uniformed police officer should do it nicely. Leave them be and they'll only get worse as they get older... I'm sorry that they spoiled your surprises, but at least you got almost everything back.

I'll never forget the time that a storekeeper laid into us for messing with his candy display (verbally, not physically)... I was about six and we were waiting for mama to finish buying stuff and we got bored and started picking up the bags of candy from the display to look at them - the shopkeeper came tearing out of the store and scared the living daylights out of us... I was so traumatised I refused to go to that shopping center again for YEARS! lol But it taught us a valuable lesson about touching things that weren't ours.

I am very thankful we got this before Christmas. DD told me the sweetest, and mature, thing. I was wrapping one of my gifts, and she just came to stand in the doorway. Of course, she asked what I was doing, so I told her, trying not to show any annoyance. She said "Mom, I want you to do something. I want you to wrap your present, put it under the tree, and forget about it. That way, on Christmas, you'll be surprised."

LOL That is too cute!

Smart girl! I know how frustrating that whole situation must have been. On top of everything else that goes on this time of year. It's time to take your daughter's advice.... take a deep breath wrap your present up and forget about it.

Lynne

Deb - I am glad you were able to get most of it back.

However, I agree with you that you have every right to be angry. Call it my new soapbox issue - but I really believe there is a major decline in teaching childeren bassic manners and respect. And those kids turn into adults with bad manners and no common courtesy. And that effects all of us - because rudeness begets rudeness, and to me is a root cause of many issues!!

So - yes, these kids are a prime example. Obviously, someone isn't there to teach them these things, or maybe they wouldn't have been so bored as to steal packages and unwrap them.

I hope the rest of your holiday is far better.

Jessica

Deb > Ok, can I vent here? My parents sent a box of Christmas presents via UPS.

Forget about what? :-) I"m actually feeling much much much much better now.

I am going to assume that you don't have any children.

And you want the police to traumatize some kids so that the last person that they ever turn to should someone do something bad to them or a friend is a police officer?

Whatever happened to good old fashioned adult discussion? The child does something and you discuss it with the parents. Only when it is serious and the parents aren't taking care of the problem should anyone call the police. The police have enough to do without all this silliness everytime someone gets annoyed or angry and wants the police to resolve something that a simple knock on the door by the parent could take care of.

Scout Lady - I do agree over all with your message, although perhaps you were a bit angry when you wrote it. :)

I was blessed to have been raised by wonderful parents who discussed things with me, in an adult manner, and were always very honest, and I firmly beleive that because of it, I have learned to be a good, open and caring person. However, often, I also needed some of the harsher lessons, because I couldn't listen to reason. There is a middle ground somewhere, and the tru tragedy it that there are kids who's parents can't be there, or don't want to be there to have thse discussions, or put in the time and patience and energy. Perhaps that is the issue we should really focus on.

Jessica

No I wasn't angry at all.

I understand what you are saying and I'm sure the woman who brought the box back corrected the children involved because if she didn't care she wouldn't have brought the box back at all. For all we know these kids may be grounded until their 18th birthday. What I'm saying is that before someone calls the police on a kid they should make every effort to resolve the matter with the childs parents or guardian.

HI.

Here's what I read:

"And you want the police to traumatize some kids so that the last person that they ever turn to should someone do something bad to them or a friend is a police officer? Whatever happened to good old fashioned adult discussion?"

It seems that the adults in these children's lives aren't doing such a good job. If they were, then the children would have a deep moral knowledge of "right and wrong." It seems this isn't the kids first offense.

Since the adults in their lives aren't teaching them proper boundaries then maybe the police should. The police are very good with kids (especially first time offenders) -- I should know I know 3 officers. It might just straighten them out. It just seems that these kids are used to getting their wrists slapped that there is no moral consequences for their actions.

Society is now made up of people who want instant gratification "I want it now" and these kids saw a box (not theirs) wanted it (so they took it) and now more adults want to talk to them (yadda yadda yadda) but no one wants to show them the errs of their ways.

I was in the 5th grade when we were shown the Suffolk County Jail, booked, locked up, (all with my parents permission) and trust me it scared me straight. It was/is memorable.

I know it is the season of forgiveness but sometimes ROBBERY just isn't forgivable. Trust me I was robbed just before my wedding. My apartment was broken into and everything was stolen -- including some items that I was to wear on my wedding day. The police caught the person and they said it was their first offense (they were curious as to what it would be like to break, enter, and steal) and the DA was recommending suspended sentance and community service. The arrogance of the two robbers are what made me decide what to do next. If they had apologized and returned my items (which they didn't do or give me the pawn shop tickets) I would have agreed to the DA's recommendation. I said no, I would accept 6 months to a year (sing sing), plus 2 years community service when they got out and they had to check in with their PO for 5 years after.

The mother (who was a single parent) hit the roof saying she could handle the boys and teach them a lesson. I looked at her and said if she was doing her job they wouldn't have been bored and robbed me of my family heirlooms and other items that I paid for. The other tenants in my building who were also robbed agreed with me and the suggested sentence.

The DA agreed and the kids got out two months ago and started the community service on Monday.

The arresting police officer became a "big brother" to both kids and made sure they were safe at Sing Sing. He helped them get their GEDs

-- ok forced them to go to school since they weren't going on the outside.

So the moral of the story is IF YOU AREN'T BEING TAUGHT RIGHT FROM WRONG FROM YOUR PARENTS THEN SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD TEACH YOU RIGHT FROM WRONG.

Kate

{{{jumping down from the soap box}}}}}

No I don't... but what does that have to do with it? I was a relief teacher for five years... I've dealt with thousands of children, some of them absolute delights, but more of them living nightmares. I've seen exactly how bad even the 'best' kids can get when they think they can get away with it, and please don't ask me about the worst. 'Kids will be kids' does NOT fly in my book. (I've also seen just how little some 'parents' care about their kids, and it's a real tragedy...)

I wasn't advocating charging them with anything or taking them away from their parents, or doing anything with any permanent consequences. But if anybody's tried to teach them about right and wrong it obviously hasn't sunk in yet, so it needs to be done again, and in a more memorable way. It really IS for their own good, and for the good of everyone else who has to deal with them in later years. A lecture about not touching things that aren't yours is going to be a lot more memorable coming from a six-foot-tall policeman in uniform than from your mom.

I feel particially responsible for this conversation going this far, so I'm going to step in here. I understand everybody has their opinion, but no one knows why they were with their grandmother in the first place. Was it just for the day or is grandma their gaurdian? I don't know. I don't know if this was their first time doing something like this or not. Maybe it wasn't, and grandma didn't want the authorities involved so the kids wouldn't miss Christmas. I don't know. Yes, the lady that saved my box has been having problems with a certain neighborhood child, but not this grandmother's granchildren. So there's no way to know whether or not this was these kids' first time doing something like this or not. There's just a lot of unknowns here. This is the time of giving, sharing and caring. I'm actually feeling sorry for the grandmother. I've put myself in her shoes, and I would definately feel embarrassed. Sure, I would have made my children take the box back themselves, and apologize, but that's me. Somehow, disciplining your grandchildren becomes different then with your own children....it's harder. I know my MIL and my parents all have a little harder time disciplining their grandchildren than they did their children. I'm going to hope and assume that she at least talked with her grandchildren about this, and they've learned a lesson. I'm also going to be praying for her and her grandchildren. If nothing else, this situation has reminded me how special and well behaved my own children are...and I think they've learned it's wrong to take other peoples property, especially packages that don't belong to them.