Lost, Found, but Not Returned? Really?

What to do when an unfamiliar jacket appears in one's home may seem obvious to our gentle readers. For a certain variety of ill-mannered mother, however, it may pose a conundrum. Add it to the jumble of outerwear in the mudroom? Button her child into it and send him out the door because "its just so crazy" getting everyone off to school? Encourage her child to enjoy her "new find?" Of course not. The well mannered mother may look inside for a name or phone number, ask her child to whom the jacket may belong, and think back to recent playdates. No matter how harrowing the process of getting her children dressed and out the door, she makes every reasonable attempt to return the lost jacket to it owner. When her own child's jacket goes missing, the well-mannered mother will cope, hoping the jacket will turn up. Three weeks later, when she is informed by a fellow mother, “Oh Zooey’s been wearing Mackenzie’s jacket and just LOVES it,” her best response is honesty. "Well, we would certainly like to have that back, please." That is, if she can manage to speak through her own astonishment.

3 comments:

Barrett Brewer said...

Zoey's mom could quickly turn from ill-mannered mother to well-mannered mother if she washed the jacket before returning it to Mackenzie. Seems like that's the least she could do.

Anonymous said...

Now I've heard everything!

Anonymous said...

Been on both sides of this conumdrum and I now label my children's clothing. I once had a child to my house wearing my child's lovely pink cardigan. Could both mother's have purchased the same Lily for their girls? The possibility certainly existed. So this Well Mannered Mother said nothing and promptly inked our name in all other misplacable outerwear.

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