Special Things

Last month we finally broke down and bought a van. We spent a full year with the three car seats wedged together in the back seat of the Explorer. It was so crowded back there that the car doors didn't close properly. We had to shut the doors and then "hip check" them in order to make them click shut. Poor newborn Erin was precariously placed in the middle of two boisterous older children, which required constant monitoring, and frequent reminders to "leave the baby alone!"

So now that we've made this new investment, we have lots of room to spread out. Beth, in particular, is enjoying her new mode of travel. She is all alone in the back of the van, and loves climbing into her own private place. She is able to buckle and unbuckle her own seat belt, so Dan and I rarely need to venture into the back of the van. But yesterday, after we dropped Beth off at school, Amy asked if she could ride in Beth's seat on the way home. Amy still needs help to get into the car, so I had to climb in with her. I was amazed to see all the "junk" that had accumulated in that back seat. Here's what I discovered in that back bench:

3 pinecones
6 acorns
three coloring books
a box of crayons
2 little pink pocketbooks
a "Hello Kitty" purse
a plastic Thomas The Tank train
The plastic bag that held her witch costume
Lots and lots of colored leaves...scattered over the floor

When we arrived home, I decided to clean the van a bit. I got a trash bag for the acorns, pinecones and leaves. I put the toys into a separate bag and placed it on a shelf in the garage, to be sorted through at a later date.

We walked home from school yesterday, so Beth didn't notice my cleaning efforts until we climbed into the van to head for the library in the afternoon. She was the first one into the car, and the shrieks that erupted from the back of the van brought me running.

"My things! My things! Where did all my things go?", she wailed.

"I did a little cleaning", was my reply.

She cried and cried, until I relented a bit. I found the bag of toys, and I handed her a coloring book and crayons.

"There were THREE coloring books!" she cried.

I handed her two more books.

"And my Thomas the Tank engine! Where did he go?!"

I silently handed the train into the back of the car.

"And my Hello Kitty purse? And my pocketbooks?"

More toys headed into the depths of the van.

"And my acorns? My pinecones? My beautiful leaves?"

Before the engine had started on the van, all the cleaning that I had done that morning had been reversed. Beth sat happily in her little corner, surrounded by her special things. I suppose we all need a little place in the world... a place where we can keep things that mean so much to us. I may not understand the relevance of a pile of acorns and pinecones, but Beth sure does. So for now, they can stay there. I'll leave the cleaning for another day.