Cleaning Out the Basement

L and I decided to tag along with our buddies on their Pre School field trip to the pumpkin patch this morning.  She seemed to enjoy seeing her teachers again, and didn't mind hanging with the wee ones at all.  We went on a hay ride, picked a pumpkin, played in the hay bales and on the slides, tried out the sorghum maze, ate a picnic lunch, and had an ice cream cone for dessert.

We went to Sam's Club before heading home, then finished up her schoolwork in record time.

Once J was home and working on her homework, and while L painted a picture for Art class, I headed into the storage room to sort through the pile of give-aways that has been collecting there for the past several months.  I usually do not have problems letting things go, especially once they have trickled so far down the significance ladder to be jumbled in a pile in the corner of the basement.  Today, however, I had a decision to make...continue to hang on to the Nursery set that I used for both of the girls, or not?
 
I actually tried listing the entire set on Craig's List twice, and on eBay once, without a single bite several years ago.  I was ready to sell it to a cute little family, but not quite so ready to send it to the Hospital Auxiliary where who-knows-what will become of it.  The really strange thing is that I can not pin point exactly WHY I am so attached to these things.  They haven't been used for at least 5 years now.  The set is cute...Noah's ark, done in cream, red and blue, and I searched high and low for EVERYTHING...diaper hanger, crib bumpers, lace window valances, a throw rug...before J was born.

So, you know the analogy about just ripping the bandaid off?  Well, I ripped.  It's gone.  I had to look at everything one last time, and then put the box in the back of the van.  I only felt queasy for a couple of minutes, and then realized it was almost time for soccer practice.

Rush, rush, hurry, hurry, eat dinner in the van, kids in the shower, story, bed. 

Now, in the quiet, I can almost hear the elephants calling to me, "Keeeeeeeeeeeep meeeeeeeeee!"

detail from crib comforter...