My Faith in Humanity Has Been Restored

My 10 y/o was heartbroken when she realized that she'd left her cell-phone in the restroom at our local Walmart. When I made the decision to purchase the phone for her I accepted the fact that the chances were very high that it would eventually be lost or broken. But due to our situation as survivors of domestic violence, I felt the necessity of her having a phone for emergencies far outweighed the risks of a loss. Never-the-less, I hurt for her and had a difficult time falling asleep because even though we returned to Walmart and inquired at the Customer Service Desk, the phone was gone. The more I thought about it the angrier I became. Even though I suspended the service, it's an AT&T phone so anyone with a SIMS card that works on the AT&T network had themselves a brand new shiny Lavender Motorola V3 and my child has nothing. Whatever happened to "do the right thing?" I always turned in items if I discovered them that didn't belong to me. Why doesn't anyone do that anymore? Have our morals gone spiraling out of control to the point that we no longer know how to do the right thing? Eventually I fell asleep and was awakened this morning at 6:50 by the local Walmart letting me know that someone had turned in Anna's phone afterall. It felt like a major cloud over my head had been blown away. My faith in humanity has truly been restored.

Here are some things that I've learned:

• If you are going to purchase a cell phone for a 10 y/o be prepared for a loss whether it becomes lost, stolen, or broken.
• BUY INSURANCE - I know that paying a monthly fee sounds like a lot of money but try buying a new phone at retail price because your contract isn't up.
• Have a back-up plan in case it does result in a loss (i.e. a prepaid phone or a used eBay phone).
• Establish some rules with the child about when they are allowed to take the phone outside of the home to reduce the chances of it becoming displaced.
• Always make an entry in your contacts/phone book labeled HOME with the correct home phone number so that if the phone is found, someone will be able to notify you that they've found your phone.