My boy had a birthday on the 16th. He's 9 now, half way to 18. Yikes!
We had no idea of what to get this kid-who-has-everything, for his birthday. When we asked Noah what he wanted, he kept pleading for a cell phone. This pleading actually started two years ago. We have heard the silly reasons why Noah thinks it is important that a 7, then 8, and now 9 year old has a cell phone. NONE of those reasons are very convincing. However, there have been maybe 3 times in the past year that I actually wished that he did have a cell phone, for my own peace of mind. (Example: dropping him off at baseball camp in 105 degree July weather, with asthma. ) That week of baseball camp came and went with no actual need of a cell phone, but it would have given ME peace of mind.
Back to the birthday.... we didn't know what else to get the kid-who-has-everything, so we figured we would just call At&t and ask about their family plan. The family plan would cost us $10 a month to add a new line & we could basically get a phone for free. I have enough roll over minutes to share, so there was no worry there. Hmmmmm, not bad, we think. Miles & I debate the pros and cons of getting Noah a phone more than we have EVER discussed a birthday gift before. I mean WHAT 9 YEAR OLD NEEDS A CELL PHONE?!
I might have been halfway through college before I got my first cell phone, but we made our little guy's wish come true and bought him a cell phone phone for his birthday. He has had a BLAST with it. He has talked to his grandparents almost every day. He has been texting grandparents, family, & family friends. He even got a text from his youth leaders at church. It's been kinda funny to watch. He has not ONCE talked or texted his OWN friends from school. I don't know why this has surprised me since he never talked to them on our home phone before either.
Well, Saturday he couldn't find his cell phone. He had taken it with him to Grandma Shirley & Grandpa Ben's for dinner on Friday night. I figured he must have left it there or maybe it was in the car. We had a busy day on Saturday and I never really stopped to help him look for it. On Sunday, the search began. We called Grandma to have her check to see if it was left there. We searched the car. We searched his room, the couch, etc. NO LUCK. All along I'm thinking... this is why a 9 year old doesn't need a cell phone. Because you KNOW I've NEVER misplaced my cell phone before! I asked Noah where he had it last. He says, "I know I put it in my jeans' pocket before I left Grandma's on Friday." So... I check his hamper. Empty! A huge panic rushes through me as I remember the load of jeans that I threw into the washing machine yesterday. I run to the laundry room and start pulling out the jeans that I put in there yesterday (don't judge me!) and what do I find at the bottom of the WET washing machine? Noah's cell phone. It went through a full wash cycle AND sat in the damp machine for a little less than 24 hours.
Miles and I shared the good and bad news with Noah. The good news was that we found the phone. The bad news was that it got washed. He teared up. After a pep talk on responsibility he understood, but was heartbroken. My heart hurt for him. He left it in his pocket, but I put it in the washer. Poor kid. We dried it out yesterday & tried turning it on today, but no luck. It's a goner.
I know it's just a cell phone that he was probably too young for anyway. Regardless, it's hard to watch your kid learn lessons the hard way.
Lesson learned.
