One of the most recent ones I've watched dealt with the mom, Beverly, going through the crafts her children have made throughout their entire lives. She kept everything. (See a clip here.)
While I'm not as bad as she is, I can relate.
One of my favorite days of the week is Friday, and not just because it's Milkshake Day. On Friday, all of the work Turken did at school that week comes home. There is at least one gem each and every week.
For example, last week gave us:
I love that kid.
And then there was this:
That would be a picture of Turken falling down our stairs. (I'm telling you, that fear is real.) It seems the big kids are not nearly as sympathetic as I am when it comes to injury, which is astounding, as I'm not all that sympathetic, either.
And then there are the bajillion crafts preschoolers bring home. So. Many. Crafts.
What are we supposed to do with them all? We can't live like Beverly.
In the basement is a tote for each of the kids. (I have no idea what size it is based on gallons. I just know it's not the biggest one offered. Small-medium size, I guess.) Inside, one will find Baptism certificates and the newspaper from the days they were born. In some one will find a favorite shirt or a jacket that all the kids wore. School photos and report cards and award certificates are there, too.
My favorite things, though, are the papers. The crafts and stories and homework assignments that made me laugh or get all mushy inside.
The beauty of this system, though, is that there is limited room. Each child gets one, and only one, box. When a stack of things comes home, I need to decide which ones are keepers and which ones are not. It has to be pretty good to make the cut. I can't keep just any old hand print. It has to be a special hand print.
I tell the kids that these are their boxes.
And they will be.
Eventually.
When I die.
For now, they are mine. As they get older, I will want to go through them every once in a while to think back to the adorable little beings they once were.
I will want to pull them out to show my grandkids in that window of time that they are interested in such things.
In a few months, my oldest will be 17 years old.
His box is almost full.
Hey Dyanne, do you happen to have any good ideas for a hand-print craft I could do with a 6'3" teenager?
What do you do/have you done with all of the things your kids have brought home? Be honest. Are you a Beverly?
Have a lovely day!
Awe that is so cute! I was looking through my college kid's tub the other day and I sat there blubbering like an idiot.
ReplyDeleteAw, not an idiot. Just a mom who misses her little boy.
Delete''As they get older, I will want to go through them every once in a while to think back to the adorable little beings they once were''.
ReplyDeleteYour post made me cry. My son is an adult and currently living back home while going through a very troubled marriage - I just wish I could go back to the time when he made or brought home all the things that are now stored in a box in the attic. :(
Oh man. Your comment made me cry. It must be so difficult to watch your child go through that.
DeleteI took Cuckoo to kindergarten roundup yesterday, and someone asked if I would be crying when he actually starts school in the fall. I'll be crying for a week at least. I will miss these days tremendously.
we saved a lot. He has it now and Im glad he does . It meant more to him than I expected it would. I kept a few drawings but that was it and let him keep the rest after he got married and I knew it wouldnt get destroyed...
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful that he wanted to keep it! I sometimes wonder if my boys will even want their boxes when they are older.
DeleteI use your tote system. I also hang recent stuff up on yarn, and as pieces get taken down from the display, they get put in the plastic bin.
ReplyDeleteBest line? He fears too much food. But he feels good about pizza at least.
How he fears too much food is a mystery. The boy has 4 older siblings who eat a ton of food, and they eat it quickly. He has to be fast to even get any!
DeleteWhat a fabulous idea. A remember box for each one. That rocks.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
It certainly works for us!
DeleteHa...that picture of him falling down the stairs and he needs patience when his parents leave. You DO know his teacher, right? That's the stuff "funny things kids say" is made of. LOL
ReplyDeleteHahaha! The teachers know our family quite well. The older kids paved the way with way more embarrassing essays and photos. :)
Delete(thats the admitting to running way too fast, taking the opportunity of a parent not being there to say 'no running down the stairs?') What a very nice gift (to you) inherent in that drawing and statement.
ReplyDeleteIt is a gift in a way. At least I know he misses me when I'm gone.
DeleteOH my gosh, this is so precious! And he has some wise insight there. I saved all these things until about 5 years ago. My oldest is 37, my youngest is 29. We just had to declutter and pitch things and I offered these treasures back to the kids. None of them wanted a thing. So I saved my favorites (about 3 things from each child) and the rest went in the trash. I thought I'd never pitch them, too, but then the boys got married, and now I'm saving things like wedding photos and the dried flowers from the weddings. I also save thank you cards from our DIL. She writes beautiful things. So, I'm just saving different things now!
ReplyDeleteAck! One more reason for me to not give them their boxes until I die. I would be crushed if they didn't want them. (Well, maybe not crushed. I'd be crushed to have to throw them away.)
DeleteYour daughter-in-law sounds like a gem. Not often you get handwritten thank you cards!
I knew you'd like that, but I thought you'd be all over his fear of no books first. :)
ReplyDeleteI have an idea. Make a tree with Phoenix's giant hand and write things about his teen-age years (like driving) and other memories.
ReplyDeletewhat a smart boy - he has beautiful handwriting - :)
ReplyDeleteI loved that episode, too. Spot on, wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteI have found it easier as my boys get older to hoard less, they don't "produce" as much, too. And yes, you are right. Someday all this will be theirs!
I've got a HUNNERT handprint ideas!
ReplyDeleteYet another reason we are the same person: I am very unsympathetic. I've always figured it was best to act like they were fine when they got hurt, then deal with anything that's worse than fine after an assessment, because I didn't want my kids to be big ol' whiny babies every time they got hurt.