Christi got an iPad for Christmas in 2012. She uses it. The kids use it. It had some normal wear and tear. A few minor scratches on the glass. Some dings. No big deal Then a couple of weeks ago Sophi was carrying it (as she often does) with her chin. CRASH! It fell to the ground. The screen cracked badly. Yikes! But not a huge deal, right. I call a repair shop and get a quote. $100 to repair. We think the iPad has a lot of life still in it and decide to get the screen fixed. Friday I brought the repaired iPad home. It looked beautiful! A shiny new screen with nary a scratch to be seen. It looked like a crystal clear lake on a perfectly still morning. I moved my head back and forth while gazing at the light reflecting in the limpid pool that was its surface. My soul was moved by the brilliance of…. Sorry, got a little carried away. Suffice it to saw the new glass was beautiful and I was pleased.
I brought it home and Christi and I had a talk with Sophi. We gently but firmly impressed upon her the importance of never carrying the iPad. She could play it if we let her, but under no circumstances was she to carry it. Never. Ever. This morning she was playing with it in our bedroom. I left the room and Soph, true to her can't-be-out-of-eyesight-of-a-parent-for-two-seconds mentality started to freak out. She wanted to follow me into the living room, but she also wanted to play that iPad. I was proud of her! She asked me if I would carry it in for her. She remembered!!! Way to go, Soph. You bet I'll move it for you.
Soon after I left for work. Finally arriving home around 6:30 pm after a long day, I walked into my office. I glanced at the bookshelf. Laying there was an iPad. But surely not CHRISTI'S iPad. Christi's iPad looked almost new. This other iPad was scratched all over the front and back. Cracks laced the glass. Surely this wasn't my limpid pool glaring back at me! I picked it up. I pushed the button. I entered Christi's passcode. AGONY!!! PAIN!!! The iPad unlocked. It was indeed my sweet Christi's device:
What could have possibly happened to this poor electronic device to wreak such havoc on it's being? I picked it up and, humming a funeral dirge, carried it solemnly into Christi. Sophi was in her lap. My haunted eyes asked the question for me. Christi explained. "I found it on the floor earlier today. I asked Sophi, 'Did you drop this?' Sophi replied, 'Nope! I didn't carry it like you told me. I just pushed it all over the (tile) floor to get it where I wanted it!'"
Still sitting in Christi's lap, Sophi said, "Sorry, mom," followed by a very sincere belly laugh. It's a shame kids don't come with some kind of warranty protection for all of the things they'll destroy before they're eight years old! But when it comes down to it, how could you get mad at her:
-Jer
