I work in an emergency children's shelter for girls ages 12 to 17. I was 4 months into my pregnancy when I purchased a rather expensive jacket at Banana Republic. I had worked that evening and placed it on the back of a chair in the staff office. The kids who are in the shelter are sometimes known for stealing, so when the jacket came up missing, I jumped to the conclusion that it had been stolen.

I sat all 15 girls down and had a long discussion about trust and consequences of actions. I informed them that I knew someone had stolen the jacket, and that I would not punish anyone if it was just returned to me. I actually became very emotional about the loss of the jacket, as it was bought with an expanding stomach in mind. We then proceeded to talk about what the punishment would be and how it could affect their stay at the shelter.

They all vowed that they had not taken it, and I informed them that I was going to do a complete room search. The girls did room searches to make sure it had not been taken on accident. I even went to great measures to pull certain youth aside and inform them it was their responsibility to let me know if they had heard anything about the missing jacket.

When my shift ended, I went to my car and actually sat on the jacket when I got into the driver's seat. There is no way that it could have been placed there without me doing it. I went in and sheepishly informed everyone what I had done. I am still trying to live down that one!

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