Treasures in my dryer

Caleb began ”collecting” things in his pockets. It first started about 6 months ago when he would bring small plastic insects home from school. “Where did these come from, baby?” “Nowhere,” he would say… “Are these from school?” …”Yes.” And the next day we would take them to school and put them back in their container. Following the insects there were crayons, small pieces of paper, and rocks. His most recent pocket collection was acorns. His new school has a big, beautiful backyard with large trees and LOTS of acorns. One day he came home with no less than 20 acorns in his pockets.

(All of this has been very cute and innocent until he came  home with a decorative coin from a gift shop in Maplewood. I actually had to call the owner to let her know that we’d be coming in with the confiscated item… Caleb handed over the coin very remorsefully and has not taken anything since.)

That doesn’t mean he does not still fill his pockets with all things little. When I emptied the dryer last night, there was a rock at the bottom and as I put it into the container on top of the dryer where I put such things, I had to laugh:

• 71 cents in quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies.
• 3 small rocks.
• 1 small Lincoln Log
• 2 plastic “pirate” coins
• 1 token for Kidz Villiage
• 1 plastic dollar bill
• 2 acorns
• 1 plastic tasting spoon from Coldstone Creamery
• 1 crayon (caught that on in the washer before it did any damage)
• 1 red jewel (the kind used in craft projects)
• two balls of dried up paper or tissue
• 1/2 of a plastic easter egg
• 1 plastic train thingy from some toy I am sure we no longer have

I have to tell you, these are the things I treasure. Like fingerprints on the windows, little drawings on scraps of paper, and matchbox cars hiding in the covers of my bed.

Advertisement