I recently went on a family holiday to France to celebrate my father’s ‘big birthday.’ My sister and her children flew out the day before me. She had forgotten to pack an item of baby equipment that would make their holiday easier. My own kids are long out of that phase, so I put a message on my street group chat to ask if someone had one we could borrow. I don’t know my neighbours closely but the chat is extremely useful for everyone, and it’s completely normal for us to post on there if stuck. I’ve enjoyed helping out several neighbours in the past, especially the elderly ones.
The evening before we flew out - while I was out - a neighbour very kindly dropped off the needed baby item with my teenage daughter and said ‘your mum needs one of these.’
I left a message on the chat to thank the neighbour (whoever they were!) profusely, but there was no reply. On return from the holiday, I posted another message, again expressing thanks and how handy the item had been. I asked the neighbour to message me so that I could return the item to them. Again, nothing.
So now I’m landed with a baby thing I have no use for and I’m not sure what to do with it. It was a couple of weeks ago that I posted the ‘return’ message. I even offered to take it to the charity shop in case they didn’t want it back.
What would you do?