Silly Old Bear...

Tonight I did something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Now that our boys are 9, 7, and 4, it is high time I do something with their baby and toddler toys. Our play room has too many toys in it! Just the thought of adding new things to it on Christmas Day drove me to action! I removed 54 AA batteries, 6 C batteries, 2 D batteries, and 2 AAA batteries. I sorted toys into the goodwill pile, the give-away-to-friends pile, the keep-in-the-attic pile, and the trash pile! But as I did all this, I had quite a trip down memory lane. Some of those toys we got 9 years ago for Braylen's first Christmas. Ironically enough, while I did all of this, my boys watched a Winne the Pooh DVD. Not usually what they choose to watch! In this video, Pooh can't find Christopher Robin because he has gone off to school. He misses him terribly. When Christopher tries to tell Pooh how to get along without him he says it this way: "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." So as I packed up the toys my growing boys no longer want, I heard them laugh and giggle at Pooh. I remembered them toddling around with the once-beloved toys in my hands. I packed away Little People, shape-sorters, and alphabet toys. I put away this time of our lives. And even though it seems silly to be emotional over toys, I was. But I heard the wisdom of Christopher Robin and Pooh ringing in my ears. As I leave behind the familiar and venture into new territory, I'm braver than I believe, stronger than I seem, and smarter than I think.