Sunday, March 1, 2009

the great debate

so larry and i are in the middle of a debate and i'm having a hard time being objective. part of me says that i am just being a sentimental old fool but the other part says i have a right to be that way. i'm not sure what to do so i'm looking for some objective input. here's the situation.
our neighbors are having a baby. they thought they were done (their youngest is in kindergarten). so they got rid of all their baby stuff. awhile ago they had told larry that they were interested in any baby stuff that we had. the other day, the dad asked larry about our crib. now on the surface our crib is nothing spectacular. but the emotional attachment i have to it makes it more precious than if it was made of gold. growing up, my parents had these friends that were like second parents to me. when larry and i found out we were expecting, they gave us the crib they had purchased for when their grandchildren came to visit. all four of our kids have used that crib. lily still uses that crib, even though she is far to big for it. i just can't seem to take it down because i know that when we do it will be put away forever. and while i don't foresee us having any more children the thought of taking it down makes me a little weepy. larry's side is that it needs to come down because lily needs to sleep on a regular bed; for the record i agree with this part. but he also thinks that since we won't be using it again we should give it to someone that will. our kids are not going to want it for their children so why should it sit in storage forever? again, i see where he is coming from but i just can't seem to give it up. am i being a silly sentimental pack rat?? maybe we should take a vote. yes means silly sentimental packrat - it needs to move on to another baby and no means keeping it is my prerogative even though it will set in storage for years to come. which ever way you vote won't hurt my feelers i promise. i just need some objectivity.

10 comments:

Laura said...

I know where you are coming from. However let me say this. I had the same attachment with my kids crib, so when the time came to take it down I sent it to my mom's so it could be used when grandkids came to visit. (It was still mine and I could get it back if ever I wanted to) well one of the grandkids broke a spindle. It could have been fixed but enough time had gone by and it didn't seem as important to me anymore. So I had my dad put it in the trash. And I didn't even shed a tear.

Where The Wilds Things Are said...

I can see where you are both coming from. If you really want to keep it, just have Larry tell the neighbors that it isn't available...they should understand. Maybe in few years you will be ready to part with it.

Olivia said...

I would not get rid of it, but I probably aree with him on taking it down soon-ish, when lily is ready for a bigger bed. But you should keep it for when you have grandkids that come to visit you! Eventually...:) I would definately NOT give away something so sentimental. Your neighbors won't have any trouble finding another crib.

Laura Campbell said...

You should save it for your grandchildren, when they come to visit, they can sleep in it. I wouldn't let them have it either. :-)

Jami said...

I think it is hard to get rid of baby stuff. I still have mine and I'm sure I will for a long time!

Angie Fellows said...

I agree with keeping it for when your grandkids come to visit. My parents still have the one that my siblings and I all slept in and it gets used pretty frequently. Plus it's got great sentimental value- keep it!

Jandi said...

KEEP IT! It was a gift, and it means a lot to you. That is ALL that matters!

5 mcneils said...

Tam- Maybe you could "lend" it to the neighbors and then in a few years you could see if you really want it back. Take a nice picture of it, that way you can remember it. But I think I feel way better knowing that someone else is actually getting some use out of something I had. I think it would be easier to let it go that way. You could always get it back to use for your grandkids. But in reality are you really going to want to store it for that long and then keep a place in your house for the times that they come to visit. Get a portable crib then. Suze Orman says something to the effect that we have to open our hands to others so that God can place something else in ours. I think that's a good thought. pay it forward. Good luck.

Adventures In The Land Of Hahl said...

thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts with me on this one. i have decided that we are keeping it. i know that i will have guilt when we tell them we aren't letting it go but i'm going to stand strong!!

Angela Henderson said...

I am not the one to ask about this. I haven't had to deal with this yet. But I think I would be sad to. I hate collecting stuff that you think you will need one day and 10 years go by and you havent touch it. So I say if your done, take apicture with all you kids in it and call it done!
By the way my BBQ blew over also, It was a mess!