Friday, December 04, 2009

Verily it doth sneak up.

We are fast approaching the blackest day in the Googlia boys' calendar: "Making Room" Day.

For those of you who are new* here, or simply maladjusted, Making Room is what we do +/- 2 weeks before Christmas. The kids present their wish list, and are summarily instructed that, should they be really serious about desiring these things, they ought to immediately go through their already colossal pile of "stuff" and cull it without mercy or pity.

This underscores the point the purpose of life is not to accumulate. If you've been blessed with material, um, blessings...fine. Enjoy them. But that's not to the point of this existence. And it also underscores that when we drill them with the importance of sharing we don't mean merely with each other, when we are watching them.

Last year, you will recall, we have a particularly ruthless episode of cleaning out the toy vault chest, producing a ceaseless parade of bags of toys to donate to poor kids.

The reason I post this is that I was reminded by something the lovely and gracious BabBab mentioned about sometimes feeling guilty that we give our kids too much stuff. There is some of that -- at least with me; my beloved grew up in more straitened circumstances and is missing that gene -- at play here, and this mitigates the guilt.

On a related note, this is the first year that giftage is specifically tied to performance in school and at home. NOS's year-end-review, as it were.

Welcome to the real world, kid.

-J.

*HA!

Posted by Joke at 9:09 AM

6 Comments

  • Blogger Caro posted at 11:27 AM, December 04, 2009  
    What a GREAT idea. I would rather have them give me the toys they are done with, then to go in the room myself and wade through.

  • Blogger blackbird posted at 9:43 PM, December 04, 2009  
    Hey, so, does this mean you have donated pre-owned toys to a charity?
    Because I'm having a terrible time doing exactly that...so, which charity takes used toys?

  • Blogger Joke posted at 11:13 PM, December 04, 2009  
    The "used" but generally immaculate toys (the ones without an original box or with some slight signs of play) go to a shelter. The other ones go to Operation Santa Claus.

    -J.

  • Blogger Mary posted at 6:31 AM, December 05, 2009  
    It's something we try to do regularly with the kids - there is a charity called "The Smith Family!" here in Oz and I recall Margot getting particularly upset once about that bloody family getting all her stuff.

    She kind of understands now that it is not just one family.

  • Blogger Jessica Lauren posted at 9:50 PM, December 06, 2009  
    Your blog is such a breath of fresh air, so delightful and joyous! A real source of inspiration, thank you for your many morsels of goodness.

    If you have a moment or two, please amuse yourself with my new creation. I would greatly appreciate the brief moment of adoration and any suggestions.

    http://acreationbornofpassionvisionandwit.blogspot.com/

    Thank You.

  • Anonymous Anonymous posted at 5:23 AM, December 07, 2009  
    I hope you didn't do all of this just for ME! (BLUSH)
    But THANKS. I was reading and you know it ...
    Paola

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