Junk...

I'm writing today as a diversion, a stall tactic, procrastination of what needs to be done. I've been saying it out loud for a couple days which forces me to be accountable and follow through. Today is the day that I tackle cleaning the boys' room. I should say "we" are tackling it, because I'm making them help. They're as excited about it as I am and there have already been a few tears. They always get a little frantic at the very beginning and start covering toys with their bodies when they see me walk in with my garbage bags. I promise not to take anything that has significant sentimental value, but they know that my only goal is to force them into relinquishing some of the junk. We have frequent discussions about the definition of junk and I need to remind them to stay focused when they find things that have been lost for a number of years.

I'm not exactly sure yet how I'm going to attack the room, but I need a game plan. Last time we did this, we divided the room into sections and worked through one section at a time. I'm thinking that might be the best way to go, especially since it's hard to travel by foot to the other side of the room. I'm pretty sure that they use the beds to cross over to the far side of the room. I don't go over there anymore as the floor is far too treacherous and I'm always barefoot. We'll start at the door and work our way in. 

Most intriguing to me is getting that first glimpse of what's under their beds. Our youngest son loves to collect ticket stubs - every time we go to a game, a movie, anything that requires a ticket and he takes the stubs home for his "collection".  I know that he's mentioned there's a crack under his mattress where he puts the stubs. He never wants me to see this crack, but I know that it leads to the void under the bed next to the pull-out drawer. I may start with his bed, which is closest to the door anyway, just to see how many stubs he's got squirreled away under there.

This post is short, but daylight is burning and I've procrastinated long enough. It's time to go in. The girls are still sleeping, but I'm sure the crying will soon wake them. 

Comments

[Randall]

Hey Sheila…..this entry took me back in time. I was the king of all pack rats when I was young. I loved to collect things and I hated to throw anything away, and I was very content to have every nook and cranny in my room filled with collections of my “treasures”. Some of my coolest collections when I was Colton’s age included pop bottle caps, nuts and bolts, buttons, shell casings (I’m from a family of hunters), bird feathers, and old fishing lures. Of course, I also had the “standard” types of collections like stamps, coins, rocks, and baseball cards. Looking back on it, I imagine my mom wasn’t too hip on seeing all that cool stuff stacking up in my room. As I sit here thinking about those days, I can see where my younger brother might have suffered unjustly at my hands over what mom might have done to some missing treasure of mine. Bummer!! Anyway, my mom did admit that one time she did throw out some of my stuff. It happened the day after I left for my first semester of college. Maybe she felt like she was doing me a big favor by cleaning up my room so it would be nice and tidy when I came home from college the first time, or maybe she felt like it was her best chance to get rid of all that old stuff that, in her mind, I didn’t need anymore. I don’t know what her true motives were, but what I do know is that one of the things she threw out was a huge tattered box full of old baseball cards. Now I admit that some of the cards weren’t in the best of shape, but, on the other hand, there were probably 1,000 cards in that box that were in mint condition. Oh well………………..I don’t suppose there is any market today for all those mint-condition rookie cards of those old baseball “hall-of-famers” from decades past! Mom’s only saving grace from this ordeal is that she probably saved my brother’s life by admitting she was the one who was responsible for depositing all those cards at the bottom of some landfill in South Dakota. Randall

[S]

Your comment had me laughing at thoughts of you with all your little collections, Randall. Sierra is an even bigger "collector" than Colton and you sound just like her! I'm actually amazed that your mom hung in there so long and waited until you were in college to help you get organized. I'm sure your baseball card collection was a hard one to see go - try not to think about the value all those hall-of-famer cards would be worth today. I'm glad that your brother's life was spared because of your mom's honesty.

Colton's little stub collection was actually neatly compiled in one area under his bed. I got a plastic box for his "valuables" and now they are neatly organized within reach and we are both happy! Their room is so clean and organized now. A whole day's work, but definitely worth it. They are both very happy and thank me several times a day for the larger room. I find myself peeking in just to admire the beauty of the space.

I'm thinking, Randall, that you need your own blog. You are an excellent writer and I LOVE reading your insightful, funny, comments. If you do decide to do it, I'll be a daily reader.

Have a WONDERFUL Father's Day! We will be with my mom, across town, so we'll miss seeing you on Sunday. Hope your family treats you to a very special day - you deserve it.