My Eddie Bauer Booster Seats Were Stolen!

I was so excited to finally be able to transfer my twins to booster seats. No more lifting them into their seats--they're heavy now! After doing research I settled on two Eddie Bauer Deluxe carseats. I like the straight seatbacks. Many of the other ones had curved seatbacks. I'm thinking that can't be good for my kids' backs.

I bought them on a Sunday, and by Wednesday they were gone! I dropped my kids off at preschool then went to Valley Fair Mall (I know it's new sexy name is Westfield Valley Fair, but I still prefer to call it Valley Fair) to have my Apple Powerbook looked at. I went back to my car and noticed that the front passenger seat was full of my kids' stuff and garbage. I knew I didn't leave it that way. I turned to look into the back seat to see if there were any other messes and to my horror both carseats were gone! I could not believe it! (No, I didn't lock my car....)

I sat in stunned silence for a few minutes trying to take in what had just happened. When you're the victim of a crime, no matter how small, it takes your mind a moment to adjust to this new reality: "I've been violated!"  Once the reality sunk in I felt scared. I started looking around. I mean, what if the "guy" was still around?! But there was no one around.

My next thought was "What if my kids had been with me? Where would they sit? And what if the person was had still been around when we got back to the car?" Then I felt grateful for what didn't happen.

After I pulled myself together I realized that I had to pick up my kids in 1/2 hour and where was I going to put them? I had to run out and get new carseats! I started calling around and couldn't find them because, of course, I needed 2 of them. In the end I had to call my husband to go and pick them up since he had carseats in his car and I eventually did get the same two carseats (I took the last two at the Cupertino Target!).

As I began telling people about what had happened, I started hearing stories about gas being siphoned from cars around their neighborhoods, the news that day reported that Costco was rationing rice and that many people were being forced to make a choice between buying groceries or gas because it has become so expensive just to afford the basics anymore. And to top it all off, my neighbor told me about how she went to our local Walgreens the previous morning and watched as a little old lady was run out of the store for trying to shoplift some eggs!

Has the recession in this country become so bad that people who wouldn't normally steal are now seeing it as an option just to get the basics, like food and gas? Are we heading into a depression? Suddenly I had a new fear.

The world looked a little darker, as if I had put dark sunglasses on.  Suddenly I was suspicious of everyone and began looking behind me when I got out of my car, especially when I was with my children.  I mean, if a little old lady is stealing eggs for her breakfast something is very wrong in this country! 

I have settled down since then, but I still wonder how this country is going to "get back to normal" if the cost of basic items like gas, food, energy, and water continue to rise so quickly. In my opinion, capitalism has run amok and I only hope that we can pull the reins in before we plummet into a depression.

And from now on I will always lock up my car.

Original post for Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

Cheryl also writes for: New Mom Central 50-something Moms Blog Betty Confidential Type-A Mom Mad About Multiples

Comments

[Kristi]

Ow! My eyes! Good Grief, please fix that picture of the booster seat, I keep trying to make it focus!

[Violet]

Not trying to excuse what happened, but why didn't you lock your car? Did you forget or do you routinely not leave your car locked?

[Judy in KY]

I have become so paranoid that I always lock my car, even if it's in my own driveway during the day. When I lived in Pennsylvania, my license plates were stolen from the train station. Recently in our area, there has been a rash of thefts of sewer drain covers. It's beginning to sound positively Dickensonian in this country.

[Akemi/svtwinmom]

Sorry this happened, Cheryl. Unbelievable!

[Allison]

I'm so sorry this happened!

I always lock my car (literally always...even when I'm IN it and even when I'm just running inside to grab something I forgot with my car sitting in its spot!), and it is for reasons like that. In a way, it's good that nothing more valuable got stolen (like the car!) but that still isn't much fun at all.

[ms]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

[mod*mom]

that's aweful about your carseats being stolen.

[Duh]

What a silly billy to not lock your car.
Do you drive without insurance too? Do you not have an alarm? Lets hope whoever took them realise that they are budget seats and leave them at the store for you to collect, with perhaps a reminder note to lock your car. Good thing your husband is smart and has his car locked. Damn good thing your children didnt need you to transport them. Your seats are probably for sale on E-bay now.

[MommyTwinGirls/Linda D]

Sorry this happened but Valley Fair is certainly a place I double-check to make sure my car is locked. Can't believe someone actually went into your car and took the car seats, though. You'd think they would have gone for the car. Kinda weird but then again, there is a market for car seats on eBay, I guess.

[Lollie]

I kept thinking as I read this post that somehow the carseats weren't stolen at all but that you had a "senior moment" and had forgotten to bring them along. LOL