Stop it. Seriously. Knock it off. I am so done with you.
I know you are probably thinking, “It was probably just an accident, Jen. Relax, it isn’t that big of a deal. It is just an Elmo backpack after all.” Oh no my friend, that is where you would be wrong. I am fairly certain at this point that it is a cold, calculated maneuver just to mess with me.
I should probably take a minute to explain that Elmo backpack is almost like a person in our house. “He” was a necessity really. I was very pregnant with Hazeline and so tired of lugging Greenleigh’s huge diaper bag around, I decided it was time to have Greenleigh carry her own stuff. And it worked out beautifully. She happily did all the work for me and carried her stuff into daycare. Best $12 I ever spent. I’m pretty sure Elmo backpack is her BFF, besides the creepy looking dolls that is.
It all started a few weeks ago when I went to pick the girls up at daycare. I gave Greenleigh her snack and she went to get Elmo backpack. After a minute or two she returned, panic-stricken, hands up in the air saying “Elmo? Elmo?” I figured she just couldn’t reach it so I went over to the ledge where it is normally kept and found it bare. I inquired with several of the teachers and they assured me that this happens every now and again, and to give it a day to see if the person realized what they did and returned the backpack. Fine. Makes perfect sense, right? But try explaining this to a 2 year old:
Me: Well, you see honey, Elmo can’t come home with us today because he is visiting another family.
Greenleigh: Elmo? (arms out to the side)
Me: No, honey Elmo can’t come home with us today. We will see him tomorrow.
Greenleigh: Elmo ba-pak?
Me: It was an accident honey, someone else took Elmo home, you will see Elmo tomorrow.
Greenleigh: Ba-pak?
Needless to say my explanations really hit home. I finally convinced her to leave but the questions continued in the car. When we got home, Greenleigh ran up to my mother (who was visiting at the time) and said “Elmo?” I told my mother what had happened and she attempted to go through the same exact explanations as I had tried to no avail. Wash, rinse, repeat when Erajh got home. I could tell this was going to be a long night.
Somehow my mother, who meant no harm I’m sure, managed to bring up the word “backpack” in almost every sentence throughout the course of dinner. Not that common of a word, but wow did we talk about a lot of backpacks that night. Not exactly helpful. Then Greenleigh asked for Elmo at bedtime. I read her an Elmo book instead, but that made no difference. At 5am when she woke up screaming, who do you think she asked for? Mommy? No. I very clearly heard the words “Elmo ba-pak” come out of her mouth as I was tucking her back in. True story.
So you can imagine how we I rejoiced when Elmo backpack was back on the ledge when we arrived at daycare the next morning. Problem solved. Ummm, apparently not because it was missing that same afternoon when my husband went to pick her up. What? How did the person who took it the first time not realize the pink Dora pull-ups in my daughter’s size or my daughter’s clothes? Not to mention her asthma medication – impossible to overlook. They must not have even opened the bag the night before. What is the point of packing a backpack for your kid if you aren’t going to check it and restock it at the end of each day?
At this point I blamed myself and hatched a plan to kidnap Elmo backpack. I would bring a new bag for Greenleigh the next day (obviously not as awesome as Elmo backpack, but it would have to do), leave that bag, and grab Elmo backpack in the morning instead of waiting until the afternoon, when he would no doubt be gone again. Elmo would be safe and that would give me time to properly label him. Because this must be my fault since he isn’t labeled. He is the only backpack like it, but you can get them confused, right? Not after I’m done with it, I thought. Sure enough I labeled it in 5 places with a black sharpie when I got home. It is a toddler backpack, there just isn’t room to label it any more than that. Trust me.
So you can imagine my dismay when I walked into daycare this week and found Elmo missing yet again. Someone must be messing with me. They apparently find it hilarious to toy with my toddler’s delicate psyche. I asked the office for the phone number of the individual they think is stealing “accidentally taking” Elmo backpack, but they claim it is against the rules. I would absolutely love to have that phone number on hand at 5 am.
I think the center should some how be responsible for the children’s properties. That’s very similar to allowing other parents take away your daughter’s pampers! Especially if they think (and I’m sure they know) who it is. So cruel, he/she needs to be called out in front of all the other parents. What about security cameras? Did you speak t the director?
I did speak with the director and she said that it was probably the grandparent of one of the kids in Greenleigh’s class. He doesn’t pick the little boy up very often so they think he might not know it isn’t his backpack. I asked them to address the issue, but obviously they haven’t or he didn’t listen. The silver lining to all of this is that the backpack always reappears and nothing is ever taken from it. I’m more upset that it really upsets Greenleigh than anything else.
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