It isn't about the stuff.

So, I tend to be a bit anal retentive about my kids' toys. I really, really hate missing pieces, or lost parts and will search just as diligently as my kids do to find the missing rook, or the connector piece thingy that is essential for proper operation. I also hate the accumulation of toys that aren't played with and frequently purge the playroom for anything broken, or cast aside. With the recent influx of new toys from Sam and Lucy's birthday, I found myself, yesterday on a mission of complete toy declutterization. (this is a necessary process when new toys come in the house... for the same reason that I can't bring home groceries if my kitchen isn't clean. I know. Weird.)

Now, it's a rare occasion when I buy anything toy related for my kids when it isn't a birthday or Christmas... But, four children and seven years worth of birthdays and Christmases, with presents also coming in from aunts, uncles, and two sets of grandparents, can still pile up A LOT of stuff... by the end of night, though everything was clean, organized and in order, I was sickened by how much STUFF there actually was. I quickly pulled aside several things that I thought could be thrown away... I thought about sneaking them out to the car and hiding them under a blanket so the kids wouldn't see the disposal and thus cry with devastation as their mean hearted mommy got rid of their favorite, even though they never actually play with it, toy.

I've changed my mind though. Instead, I'm going to enlist the children in an effort to clean up the discarded toys... we're going to wipe the marker off the tracks of the old train set and put fresh batteries in all the trains. We're going to wipe off the scars and signs of past play and make them ready for someone new. And then we're going to donate them to a local battered women's shelter. They have a playroom for kids that come along with Moms in need. I bet they could use something new.

As we approach another holiday season, my kids, like many others, will be making lists and dreaming of toys in gleeful anticipation of Santa's visit. I would never take away this joy... but I will try to remind them, and help them see that this world is a big place... it isn't always about them...

and it isn't about the stuff.

What have you done in past holiday seasons, or what are you planning this year to help your kids (and let's face it, ourselves) maintain perspective?

PS. Happy birthday to these two. Five years ago yesterday will forever go down as one of my favorite days ever.