Time Capsules

Next frontier after closets: kids' rooms. Here it gets a little harder as I find bits and pieces of practically every toy under the sun, and a few under the moon. Does this 2mm white plastic thingamabob go with the Star Wars Super Mega Stormtrooper Transport And Salad Shooter? Or is it from the Hot Wheels Race 'Em Chase 'Em Loop O' Icy Dino Death Track? And for goodness' sake, is there ANY Littlest Pet Shop daughter didn't collect a couple years back?!?

It's those 'couple years back' toys that are the worst. The Time Capsule toys...things son and daughter outgrew long ago, but I haven't quite been able to bring myself to let go of because of my memories of who and how they were when they played with them. You see a naked, ballpoint-pen-tattooed Barbie Doll with frustration-pencil hair, or a scotch-taped heap of mismatched toy pieces and construction paper with crayoned scribbles; I see a four-year-old sprite spinning whole alternate universes out of her head, or a six-year-old boy's mammoth (and fully functional) homemade racetrack. Like breadcrumbs in the forest, kids leave these small evidences of who they've been on the way to who they're becoming.

And it's hard to be the bird, y'know?

The saddest line in the Bible: "When I became a man, I put away childish things."

Holy Laundry, Batman!

Whatever scientist it was that 'disproved' spontaneous generation, didn't live in our house.

A few weeks ago I spent a full, dedicated weekend doing NOTHING but laundry and sorting through clothes. Stocked the Goodwill, practically.

This morning I went down to the basement and there, on the nice, big, formerly VERY CLEAN laundry table, was a huge, leering pile of yet more laundry. I could swear I heard it chuckling evilly: "Muahahahahaaah!"

Where'd it all come from?!???

In other news, tho', awesome SIL and Mom are both on board to help w/the Monster Yard Sale in June. Be nice to make a buck, nicer yet to see stuff we haven't further use for becoming useful to others. Now if I can just get past packrat instincts..."No, wait, I know I haven't looked at, touched, or even remembered I HAD this doohickey, but I might NEED it someday!"

sigh.