On January 19,2012 our van was stolen, right in front of us. The boys we’re watching out the front window as it happened and I was literally 10-15 feet away. They have been profoundly affected by this event, Gavin more so than the others.
He spent a lot of time crying and hardly spoke a word the entire day. Elliott is much more anxious than usual and Emmett wants his black car seat back. I do my best to reassure them and at this point, that’s all I can do.
Lizze and I are obviously upset and stressed out about this situation because if the van gets totaled out, we’ll be left with nothing. To say that this is problem is like calling the ocean a puddle. We have an average of 14 appointments a week -not including back and forth to school- between therapies and doctors.
Without our van, we’re pretty much dead in the water.
I really feel it’s important to have an open dialogue with the boys about what happened. They’re worried and don’t understand why this happened and what we are going to do.
Gavin, as you will see in the video, thinks that we did something wrong. He has been asking “what we did wrong” and “why did they do this to us”.
I wanted to give the boys a chance to say what they were feeling and ask their questions and even deliver a message to anyone thinking about doing this to someone else. They need to know that it’s okay to feel whatever they feel and it’s important to get these feelings out so we can talk about them.
As always, but especially now, I’m extremely proud of my boys.
This is their voice.
[youtube width=”720″ height=”480″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQtGgAh-scw[/youtube]
You have such beautiful and articulate boys. Bravo to both of you as parents. I am so sorry your family has had to experience this, and I hope your days get better soon!
such loving, dedicated parents!
I hope you get your van back in good shape.
Rob your boys are precious. The stealing of your van will stay with the boys for quite a while but I love what they said, that they will forgive who took the van for themselves so they don't get sick or sad, as Elliot said. I hope they find the van fast and in good condition. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
Well, I certainly hope you get your van back in good shape. It is sad how people feel that they must steal from others to get through life, not even thinking what it will cause the family to go through.
🙁 So so sorry this happened to your family. How devastating. I hope that your van is returned to your family unharmed and quickly. I remember when my oldest's bike was stolen off our patio. It affected him extremely. He made posters all by himself that we posted in the neighborhood. He had gotten the bike for Christmas and only had it a few months. He still thinks about that bike 4 years later. It was special to him and we never did find it. Kudos to your boys for sending this message out!
What a precious family. I'm so sorry you all have had to endure this.