A Toy Story

I've been putting toys away that the kids no longer play with since seemingly the day they were born. No sooner you get them a toy to play with and they grow out of it and move on to something else.  My kids have always gone through phases where they like something so much that they have to have every toy ever made.  Then as soon as they do, they find something else that piques their interest and the process starts all over.

Long since forgotten

The truth is I have a lot of stuff sitting around that I know they will never play with again.  My boys, it seems, have outgrown playing with toys all together.  Tyler will be 10 in a couple of months and Carter just turned seven and their interests right now lie in video games and sports.  That's not necessarily a bad thing as it is something that we can all enjoy together, but the memories wrapped up in those toys sitting in boxes is what keeps a lot of them around.

I can just imagine the toys, like in the movie Toy Story, are just sitting there waiting to get played with one more time.  Chances are they won't, but I kind of would like them to remember the fun they had with their Sheriff Woody doll or their Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger.

There is something magical about kids playing with toys.  They use their imaginations to create these complex story lines that only they and the toy would understand. Then somewhere a long the way they lose interest and the world of imagination disappears. Why do they have to get older?  Why can't they just stay a certain age forever?  Why can't this fantasy world be the world in which we live?

As I put these toys in storage boxes, I don't know what is going to become of them.  I haven't fully decided if I want to donate them to some needy kids or hold onto them to let my grandkids play with them.  Our old toys deserve the best because they are the best. The ending of our toy story hasn't been written yet, but I hope they don't mind waiting around to find out.  

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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