Do you ever feel like you are just a manager of "stuff"?

I do.  Our house is so full of  good ol’ c-r-a-p that I feel like I am spending a lot of time just trying to take care of it all.  When people ask me what I do for a living (not that they do) I should say that I am in management.  "Oh?" they will ask.  "What do you manage?"  Oh, you know I run a household of junk and small people.  "Really?"  they will say as they roll their eyes at me.  Yes.  It takes a lot to manage more possessions than one can handle.  Quite frankly, I don’t have time to have this conversation with you, for as we speak, the stuff is getting out of control.

Seriously. 

So I have made a decision to downsize.  My sanity demands it.  And as painful as it was I started with my own belongings.  Particularly my own personal stuffed animals.  One such friend who will be departing our family is a very loved and special one.  A sweet and fluffy little elephan that I longed to have and when I finally recieved her I affectionately named her Elly.  (Yeah, not the most creative of names, but hey, I was 10.)

And as I was putting Elly and a few other toys into a big plastic sack, Sugar had a complete come-apart.  

"Don’t put those in the GARBAGE!!!!"

It was just too much for her little 2-year old mind to take.  She was screaming and tossing everything out of the bag. She was a little ball of fury and tears and I wasn’t much better off!  I am trying to make my life easier here!  I realized my idea to do this while children were present, was a very bad choice indeed.  One very long tantrum and a timeout later Sugar and I sat at the computer while I googled images of Poor African Children.  

Me: See those kids?
Sugar: uh-huh
Me: Do they look sad?
Sugar: (Sniffling) uh-huh.
Me: Do you think they have any toys?
Sugar: (nodding and smiling) Uh-huh.
Me: Um, no.  NO they don’t have any toys.  Isn’t that sad?
Sugar: (frowning) Yeah.
Me: So should we give them some of our toys?
Sugar: Yeah. 

So that was that.  I don’t know if that was a good parenting moment or just an act of desperation.  I sure do hope that when I take Elly to the DI that she gets sent to a poor child with no toys instead of sitting on the shelf of the thrift store.  I’m still a little broken up about giving my friend away.  Writing this post has made me begun to queston my decision. Since I haven’t taken the stuff yet, maybe it’s not too late…