Just as I was beginning think we were really getting somewhere with the new group of kids living with us, we encountered a little problem. Last night we had made it clear that they (the boys especially) were to go to bed and go to sleep, and not keep anyone up like they had the night before. Before Nina and I went to bed, I checked them, soundly sleeping like little chickenpox angels. I was awoken some time after 1am to a crinkling sound. I noticed our door was open (since they are sick, we left it cracked in case they needed us in the night) and sat up to see what was wrong. I thought I would see a whimpering child, but to my surprise a small shadowy figure squatted closely to the ground with his hand inside the box of treats that we keep under our bed. When I sat up and gasped, he bolted, leaving the booty (hard candy) where it fell. I ran out to see who it was, but of course didn't have my glasses on and by the time I did and got out there, the culprit was back in place pretending to sleep. I thought to check their chests for the one with the racing heart but decided to wait until morning to see if I could rouse a confession.
In the morning Nina and I sat the kids down for a talk and explained to them what had happened, and that as a consequence there would be no games or toys for anyone today. If the person responsible wanted to come talk to us, that would be fine, but we had already decided that a confession would not reinstate the games. Then I uttered the parental words I never thought I would say, the horrendous phrase burned into every child's memory....'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.' Just as we suspected, an argument ensued and a faulty confession came forward from the youngest boy in the group, Karun. Karun is always being picked on as the smallest, and I had pretty much already eliminated him as a suspect (he was out like a light when I went out to check.) Soon the kids all started asking for the games, but this time we held strong and kept them locked away in our room. Later when asked again if he stole the candy, Karun said he did not, but again confessed when Bendang questioned the boys. We may never know for sure who snuck in our room in the middle of the night and stole from our box of goodies, but I'm pretty sure the burglar was scared enough by being caught in the act to not try that again.
I'm pretty sure this little guy is innocent, but he tried to take the wrap for everyone else after the older boys got ahold of him.
In the end, it makes me sad. Some of these children come from backgrounds where stealing is a way to get by. Some may have even been instructed by parents to steal, or had to in order to survive. It makes me sad that they couldn't think of another way to get what they wanted other than sneaking in the middle of the night to steal something that doesn't belong to them. We tried to make it clear that there are plenty of ways to get what you want without lying or cheating or stealing, and I hope that they have learned that lesson. I do know one thing: I am not looking forward to the day I have to say those terrible words again.
