Open Letter to an iPad Thief

Hello,

I wonder if you knew that when my husband (your loved one’s nurse) stopped by and laid an iPad on the bed, he was at the end of a long night shift, just ready to head out the door. He saw that your loved one was uncomfortable, so he had the compassion to come in and try to fix things up for him. That is when he forgot to pick up his device (which he “never” takes along to work) and you saw your opportunity. After he left, the other nurses asked if the iPad on the bed belonged to you, and you said it did. It got packed in with your belongings, and you just had yourself a freebie. I know it was a big temptation, but they gave you the chance to be honest. I am sorry you weren’t.

The funny thing is, that particular first generation iPad isn’t really very valuable anymore. Three years is a long time in the evolving world of technology. If you are interested in knowing what you stole, here is what it is to us, not in dollars, but in value.

You should try the Bugs and Buttons app. My 2 year old really loved counting buttons and sorting colors during her quiet time on the couch. There is a whole folder of pictures that our four-year-old drew and colored on her favorite app. She would tell you to try Monkey Math, where you trace numbers and count objects, as well. Have you seen that one yet? Our older children don’t really mind not having to do flash cards, but they had a lot of really good audiobooks and music on there for road trips. The boys especially wish they could still use the iPad to hunt deer when they have earned enough privileges on their job chart.

As for me, what you stole was my homeschool tutor and my all around helper. I had a lot of books on that shelf, books I highly prized. There is one I especially recommend to you, titled Don’t Waste Your Life. That iPad was also my recipe book, my contacts list, my connection to the world outside my house. Did you know that you stole my Bible? I miss that more than anything, because it was the one I used to study, underline, and  note.

For a few days we kept hoping it would show up, someone would bring it to lost and found, etc. When my husband called you and courteously asked you if you had any idea where his iPad is, you had no idea. In fact, you hadn’t seen it. I bet you were a little surprised that we knew exactly who you were. Maybe you just knew we were the sort of people who would not press charges.  I scrambled to change passwords on all the stuff I always left open in my bookmarks bar. We haven’t quite figured out a way to log out of everything remotely. I suppose if you are smart enough to disable the tracking setting, you know better than to incriminate yourself with funny business on our Amazon account. At any rate, we would love to have it back, but we will be okay. No doubt every one will adapt to how life was three years ago before it got so handy-dandy.

I hope you enjoy. Oh, and do check out the Bible app. It is amazing.

Sincerely, the Peights