Not To Be Judgemental, But I Think I've Been Outsmarted

Ryan has been begging me for a new backpack. I've been trying to hold him off until the start of next school year since we only have a couple more months in this one. Over the past couple of years, I've been slowly replacing the kids backpacks with new ones from a certain mail order company based in Maine (I'm trying to avoid any more blatant product endorsements!) as they've needed them. They are really nice ones and have a lifetime guarantee. If anything (anything at all) goes wrong with them or breaks, they will replace it for free. Even if you were to fill with rocks and drag it behind your car while you went on vacation. I am having visions of never buying backpacks again! (Except that time Erica thought hers had been stolen out of her locker. They won't replace it if stolen.) Thing is, they aren't exactly cheap and Ryan isn't exactly Mr. Take Care of Things. He is much better now than he was at the beginning of the year, I must admit.

Two weeks ago, Ryan lost his backpack. He has (he said) looked and looked for it at school, but it has never been found. (In all fairness, I must admit that I never went down to look in lost and found myself.) At the end of last week, I finally broke down and ordered him a back pack. His old one really was getting beat up. It arrived yesterday. Other than its' being black when he swears he asked for green, Ryan is very excited. You see, he's been carrying his papers and lunch in his hands for two weeks. His fingers get kind of cold a cramped by the time we reach school everyday. I looked at it as a natural consequence for losing his back pack and is not wanting to use a grocery bag. I told him he also needed to earn the $1 to cover the cost of a new school folder, as I was told the folders were required and he needed $1 to pay for it. He finally informed me yesterday that he doesn't really have to have one, just a back pack. Of course. I should know better. Fast forward to today. Lo and behold, miracle of miracles, after taking his new backpack to school for the first time, Ryan found his old backpack at school. In the lost and found. With his school folder inside. I think I've been had. At least I will never have to buy another back pack. I might even get a little extra work out of a certain little boy to help cover the cost of the new one!