It all started when I went to look for a literary analysis book. One trash bag full and three boxes into the job, I started finding things. Treasures, really.
We must keep the carousal horse and other drawings, and the book Drawing With Children. I would be happy with only the drawings, but my daughter insists. What if she needs that book for her kids?
This binder says right on the cover Mind Twisting Stories which means it is a titled work, so it cannot be discarded.
Little sister even decorated it.
Most of our materials and assignments come with decorations of some sort, be they toddler explorations with marker, coffee rings, important reminders (reschedule dentist, pay water bill, need 27 styrofoam cups and toothpicks for gumballs) or even teeth marks. My youngest literally teethed on Shakespeare for Young People: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
I like to think that makes her sound smart.
I tossed that chewed on copy, but when my middle son came by to visit he noticed the boxes. “But mom, I was in this play! TWICE.” Since he has his own house now he was welcome to dig through the boxes to his heart’s content.
When I was in the midst of the juggling act, I never realized how precious all those spills and scribbles would be someday.
We must keep the Book of Jokes. This is slap full of things nine year old boys find hilarious. Or HE-larry-US.
Obviously, these cannot be tossed out.
I adore reading his jokes and remembering that boy laugh. You know the one. The one that makes you laugh along even when nothing is funny. For a second I hear it again. I picture that grin and tousled up hair. It’s so present I can practically smell the little boy smell.
Also making the cut we have a songbook and cassette tape of Down By The Creekbank, a few original one of a kind, hand-designed space themed board games, and a smattering of materials we may actually need sometime next year.
I offered to keep the dissection kit (It’s in perfectly good shape) and order some extra specimens to do for fun.
The girl said, “No, thanks. I’m good.”
Party pooper. Truthfully, I am not so sad to say goodbye to that stage of my homeschooling mom career. Frog guts. Ugh.
Eventually, I loaded up boxes with a bunch of materials, some brand new. I think you may be able to discern why sometimes busy moms end up with duplicate unused workbooks.
My cabinet looks better now, but some old books are still firmly entrenched in the Stone Family Collection. Yes, those are ancient Abeka and National Geographic books. My kids loved them. Old books are friends.
I did find the book I was hunting, but after I skimmed through it I discovered it was not exactly what I was looking for.
I found something better. Messy, hoarded memories and plenty of room for more.
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© 2015 – 2017, Donna Stone. All rights reserved.
Awesome! I laughed out loud when I read the ending that it wasn’t what you were looking for after all 🙂
Yes, it turned out I need something different than that book. Isn’t that the way it always goes? 🙂
I smiled and even found myself a little misty eyed reading this post 🙂 I have so many good memories come back each time we go through the boxes of workbooks and old work of the children to narrow down things to just our favorites.
I know! It’s so hard to throw out all those treasures.
I just spent time rearranging and culling homeschool books last night! The struggle is real!
Oh, yes. And never ending.
Oh, I love this! And it makes me feel better about hoarding aaaaalllll of my girls’ drawings and work! 🙂
It’s too hard to throw stuff out!
I don’t homeschool but I have the hardest time getting rid of books and papers as well! What if….? ALL the time!
It seems like if you toss it, you are sure to need it soon. Isn’t that the way?
Lovely memories! My boys are aged 5 and 3 and I have a large drawer full of their drawings and paintings…I can’t throw them out! I think I’ll have to build an extension to keep all the stuff I’ll collect in the years to come!
It is so hard to part with those drawings and works of art.
I loved this – and can sympathize! 🙂 I know we can’t keep everything but when you’ve got Mom Brain, it helps to actually have something in front of you! Thanks for linking up with Waiting on…Wednesday!
Holly
iwillservewhileiwait.blogspot.com
Bittersweet. 🙂
Thank you so much Donna for sharing this at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings
Great story. Good for a walk down memory lane. We are at the cabin we’ve been renting for 25 years and have been doing that all week.
I’ll bet you are finding lots of memories after twenty-five years, Phyllis. 🙂
Thanks for sharing with #after my coffee.
My mom kept ALL those papers and “handed them to me” as an adult. I kept 1-2 for a bit, but still have a hard time parting with my own kids work. Its all boxed up in the storage shed… maybe destroyed by insects and mice. Getting better at selling books, but yes, there are some that I’m “hoarding” for my grandkids some day.