We received a flier in the mail a week or so ago from AMVETS stating they would be coming to our neighborhood to pick up any unwanted items we had (that other people could use). They included a list of items needed so Jacob and I thought it would be a good way to clean out the closets and get rid of clothes we no longer wear and clothes the boys have outgrown. We went through all the closets and filled two large trash bags with clothes. Last night we taped the AMVETS flier to one of the bags so they would see it and know they could pick it up from our curb and distribute the items as needed. Jacob carried the bags out this morning and we went about our usual routine of breakfast, brushing teeth, and getting ready to take Alex to school. When we got home from taking Alex to school Logan pointed to the bags sitting on our curb. "What are those big black things, mommy?" he asked. I said, "Those are bags of clothes that we are giving away." "Oh," came the reply from the back seat. We came inside and Logan eventually walked up to me and said, "Momma, why are we giving our clothes away?" I explained that we have more clothes than we need and we don't wear all of our clothes. I told him that he and Alex grow so fast that they often have clothes that no longer fit and that other children could wear them. Logan stood there for a minute thinking about all I had said. I continued by saying, "Not all little boys and girls have as many clothes and toys as you and Alex." Logan's eyes widened and he said, "There are boys who don't have cool toys like Alex and me?" I said, "Yes, you and Alex should be thankful for what you have." He continued to ask questions and I told him that it was easy to take things for granted when you always have things. I said, "You have snacks and nice clothes and a lot of cool toys, books to read and art supplies." Logan smiled and said, "Yes, we have a lot of things." I said, "We often just assume every one has the things we have, but that isn't the case." We have had the "money" conversation in the past where I explained to the boys that their daddy goes to work every day so they can have a roof over their heads, food on the table, clothes, and all the extra fun things they receive. Logan seemed really impressed by this. I guess if you think about it from a 3-year-old's perspective it is cool that your daddy would go to work EVERY day to make money so you can have all of these things. It does sound pretty neat! So, of course, Logan very seriously says, "Why do these boys and girls not have daddies who go to work so they can have things?" I knew there was no explaining this to Logan. We could sit and talk about it for hours and he would still have questions and not understand why everyone's home and family wasn't like his. I could picture him shrugging his shoulders and continuously asking "why?" So, I looked into his big blue eyes and said, "There could be any number of reasons why some people don't have all the things we have. This is why we need to be happy with what we have because not everyone is as fortunate as us." Logan smiled and looked around his play room. He said, "We have enough toys for everybody. Maybe we could share?" I couldn't help but smile. I said, "You want to share your toys?" Logan said, "Yes, with boys and girls who don't have toys." I said, "That is very nice of you to want to share." Logan smiled, obviously feeling very proud and said, "Thank you, momma." So, tomorrow we are going to bag up some toys to take to Goodwill. I am going to let Alex and Logan help me if they want to, but I think Logan had a great idea! I am very proud of my boys and hope this desire to give stays with them for years to come!
Here are a few pictures of the boys playing:
Until next time . . .
You truly have the sweetest boys!
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