One of the problems I face when decluttering is figuring out what we should keep and what can be donated. The kids once said to me " Mom, you always get rid of the wrong things!" For instance, we have an old beat up metal school bus that Jeff has taken out of the "donate" pile a few times. Knowing that, I didn't add it to the pile this time but would like the younger boys to repaint it. While cleaning the playroom I almost gave away a tambourine that Meg used to play with but she rescued it (again).She said " Mom, don't you remember Linda Lou and the Lucky Four? That was her make believe singing band. Now that she mentioned it, I do.That's why she loves it so much.
I was trying to be thorough and "'detached from things" as I gathered items to donate and put these lawnmowers into the back of the van.They stayed there overnight. These little Tyke mowers have been in our backyard for 20 years!!!!They still look and function well.These guys are their original owners:
They each own real mowers now.Then our mowers were pushed around the yard by these guys:
Sam now mows on a riding lawnmower!
Kids who come to visit enjoy the novelty of mowing, especially because there are two of them which always makes things more fun.
Fortunately, the plastic mowers were liberated from the van by one of the kids and put back into the yard before I drove away to the rummage sale collection spot!
It seems that this guy has now taken to "mowing" a little in the evenings:
About a week after this near miss, Greg gave Larry a Father's Day card that talked about following in his father's footsteps. It showed a picture of a grown man pushing a lawnmower with a little boy pushing one of these exact Lil' Tyke mowers behind him !I was Sooo grateful that I had kept them. I would have been completely bummed out if I had in fact donated them! Along the same vein, the person in charge of the upcoming Vacation Bible School asked me if we had a child's mower for a prop. I was thrilled to say that we have two of them and could bring them in to use!
It turns out that these mowers mean a lot to all of us and they will continue to stay in the yard for grandchildren to play with until they rot. You know how sturdy Lil' Tykes toys are- that may never happen!!!!
