A at about the age of 2 began to keep a bag that is filled with all the small items that she loves and that have found a special place in her heart. The bag itself was one of the first gifts that her sister ever gave to her and is special in its own way.
As she has grown the items have changed although there have also been a few that remain the same. I sometimes feel as if I’m snooping when I look inside to see what she currently has stashed away but I can’t resist a peek now and again.
I love to look at the items in it and figure out what makes them special, although sometimes I can’t. It’s gotten easier as she’s gotten older to figure things out but it still sometimes stumps me. It’s a peek into the mind of a child and I love to see the mishmash of things she treasures.
I regularly go through the kids rooms to get rid of toys they don’t use and bits of garbage that have found their way in but this bag no matter how much junk I think is in it doesn’t get touched.
She even has a couple of items in it from my own childhood, a fake key, a miniature glow worm and a Minnie mouse pin. For those things to have lasted through to her childhood they were obviously of value to me when I was young as well.
It has been a great thing to have for road trips and time away from home, as long as she has this bag she has something to do and something to comfort her. She doesn’t carry it with her everywhere anymore and not all of her important stuff goes in it now, now she has a purse.
Someday I know she’ll stop doing this altogether and I can’t help but feel I’ll miss the days when a broken shell or a silly shaped whistle are no longer counted as such prized possessions.
