Pick Pocket Person- NOT NICE!

Our phone rang yesterday morning at 5am which usually means school is delayed or closed but the roads were clear and it didn't look like there was any chance of a school delay.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres was the first to answer the phone but no one was there.  He crawled  back into  bed with both of us thinking how NOT nice it was for someone to call us at that hour.  Just as we finished that thought, the phone rang again. My younger daughter was on the other end sobbing.  She is in Spain right now and had been pick pocketed.  Her iphone was stolen as was her rail pass. All her pictures are gone. All her videos from Europe are gone.  All her contacts.  She feels so violated.  A piece of her was stolen.  I assured her that the memories of those things still remain and the phone - is just a phone.  It is a thing that can be replaced.  As long as she was safe - nothing else in the world matters. The rest of my day was spent changing passwords, canceling accounts and my favorite favorite favorite thing in the world.....spending hours on the phone with the cell phone company. The end result - no the phone was not covered against theft.  If it were broken, they would fix it. But stolen? No.  That is not a good reason for a replacement.  AND no one in my family is eligible for a replacement/upgrade/swap.  AND if I want a phone - it will cost FULL retail price.  Oh Joy.  I spent several hours going through various options on cost cutting and circumventing the phone issue but in the end, my daughter needs a phone.  In the end, making things work around the phone issue just didn't solve anything. In the end, my wallet is empty. Of course- it is just a thing.  Things can be replaced and so, hers has been replaced.  I stayed up until 1:00am loading her phone with what she needs because........she did NOT back up her phone.  I am going to wait before I give her that lecture. I just downloaded each previously purchased item.....one......by.......one......all.......night.......long.  I am fairly sure I get the mom award for that.  I even put pictures of us on her phone and of her doodle doggies and of things she loved so when she gets the phone and turns it on, she will smile.  Hopefully it will be less painful than looking at an empty picture folder. I got the phone all packed up and was at the post office first thing this morning. Hopefully it will make it there safe and sound.  And more importantly, hopefully my daughter can continue to enjoy the beauty of Europe. Stay safe my sweet daughter!