Sorry to fill your house, but…
– Everything is an Adventure: Column by Julia Wolf –
Garage saling is one of those things I should definitely not do. My apartment is full, just like everybody else’s living quarters seem to be.
And yet, guess what my mom and I went and did a couple weekends ago? As we headed out for a church garage sale, you could almost see my dad silently willing us not to bring anything home, despite the fact one of his favorite hobbies seems to be filling my house with stuff from theirs.
We brought stuff home. Though, to be fair, we did pretty good. I only ended up with some baking trays, cookie cooling racks, a vase for flowers and a couple knickknacks to add to my mish-mash fairy garden. My mom didn’t bring home a lot of stuff either.
My co-worker, Joy, didn’t fare so well. I found all sorts of stuff for her little guy.
My dad is correct. It is more fun filling other people’s houses, than my own. It also worked mighty good as a distraction, to stop us from finding even more things for our own houses.
It started out, I was just looking for pants for Joy’s little guy, that didn’t already have holes in the knees, a difficult feat for an age group where they live life to the fullest. Pretty soon, my mom found a shirt for him that was too cute to pass up. Then, some clothes that the little dude is going to have to grow a lot to fit into.
Then, we found a few heavily pre-loved books and some decorations for his room.
There was this stuffed llama sitting in a pile of other stuffed animals, looking like it needed a little boy for a friend. Of course, I knew right away he needed it.
Between the running joke in the office that Joy is going to decorate her dungeon with happy llama decor, thereby totally defeating the point of a dungeon, and the time her little guy wanted to take home a stuffed llama from the office that was not his and had an absolute meltdown when he was told no ( But I’ll m-m-m-MISS it!), the llama was a must.
Better yet, the toy had a Fleet Farm logo on it. It’s that kid’s dream stuffed animal, for sure.
Just as I finished putting the stuffed llama into the bag to purchase, I turned and saw a second llama toy. Twins! Mom, the llamas are twins! As my mom said, you can’t split up twins. So, both stuffed llamas came home and I have to admit, they did look pretty cute hanging out to dry by their ears, bobbling in the wind, after we ran them through the washing machine.
Joy seemed far less excited about the stuffed animals than we were. They were a hit with the young man, though. At least it was more fun for him than clothes, which, let’s face it, he doesn’t care about at all.
She doesn’t know it yet, but Joy is very happy I put the brakes on there. My mom saw the selection of large toys, where kids can stand and drive cars through them, or move figurines around. Think, doll house-sized toys. She asked if the little guy would like any of that stuff. Why, yes, he would love all of it, but Joy would not love it if I picked out giant stuff like that for him.
See. Just because it is more fun filling other people’s houses, than it is filling my own, doesn’t mean I don’t have limits. So, what I’m saying, is I’m only a little bit sorry, Joy.
