Stahlke Adoption

LaBBBBRRRRR Day

Paul had football practice yesterday, but the rest of us spent the day at Lake Michigan. The wind blew so hard we couldn't wear hats, and the waves crashed with great drama. A few of us walked along the beach, since swimming was prohibited due to the rough water. Wading actually felt warm in comparison to the air. It was a beautiful, crisp day following last Friday's record heat and humidity.

I left my purse at home, but had thrown a few necessary items into a large blue book bag. At the beach, a family member was always sitting with our things, but the thief was wily and took my bag without anyone noticing. When we left for lunch, the loss became evident. Even though the kids and I searched every trashcan and all the bushes in the area, nothing showed up. But then Jonathan got a phone call that someone had found my belongings in Greektown, about two miles away.

We jumped in the car and met the callers, who handed me my blue bag. Several items, valuable only to me, still remained inside. The best recoveries were my driver's license and calendar. What a relief. Several of us searched the area where the bag was found, and several more items showed up, all strewn across a lonely section of dirt under the "L" tracks. Another find that pleased me no end was my ring of house keys. All there, that is, except the skeleton key to our house. A nearby police officer told me, however, that the thief probably took the skeleton key as a memento (since it's old). He/she left behind my license and calendar, both containing the house address, and the cop said they wouldn't likely have taken the time to write down the address.

My total losses added up to the skeleton key, two pairs of athletic socks, and my (2-1/2 year old) cell phone. I gained back far more than I ever imagined possible--calendar, driver's license, car keys, most of my house and church keys, and even the book I just bought on touring Sweden (it's never too soon to prepare for that future trip I want to take!). The children learned about being a theft victim, and I will definitely be more careful the next time we head to a public place.

posted by Stahlkes @ 2:23 PM