11 Comments

We just did a big closet/playroom clean out, and I was surprised by the emotions I felt about little things like building blocks and stuffed animals. (I can't say the same for the mismatched pieces of plastic from toys I regretted the instant they moved in).

When our first two kids were toddlers, we lived at the local playground--grab your coffee, your croissants and get thee to the playground. It's not been the same for our caboose third who gets to the playground outside of school maybe two times a week. It's a different season of older sibling sports and activities. But I think about those mornings at the playground a lot and how they marked an era that's ended.

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Yes!! So many endings are marked without ceremony. It’s good to remember them anyway. Thanks for reading. And yes, that third one often gets short shrift- but also so many perks!

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The family in floods of tears in the car home!! Oh oh oh!! And the list of changes coming!! And the glimpse of the play structure in its old glory!! Oh my heart.

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In its glory yes!!

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This one hit me right in the heart. There is something about the way that the swing set represents the passage of time both for our kids and for us as parents. Back in the swing set days we were just setting up all the trappings of the joyful life we hoped to provide for our kids...plastic twisty slide included. It is sometimes too much to realize that that is now squarely in the past. I feel you Daisy.

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So well said! Setting up their little joyful lives sob

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Feeling relieved I never got a swing set to deal with this, but also devastated I didn’t have a third kid to prolong the active parenting phase.

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Not getting the swing set may have been the smart move

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Feeling relieved I never got a swing set to deal with this, but also devastated I didn’t have a third kid to prolong the active parenting phase.

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Loved this

Roz Chast in ‘Can't we Talk About Sthg more pleasant’ said you should only keep sthg if you think your children will want it… I’m thinking of throwing away all my photos and letters from ages 16-28 when I stopped writing letters … or printing photos

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A friend with adult kids told me kids always want us to keep everything, so everything stays exactly the same for them to step back into. We are allowed to fight against that I suppose

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