Every time we visit our grandkids, I leave my laptop bag near the front door. I don’t usually use my computer while visiting the grandkids because they don’t like my attention elsewhere. I only use it if a work issue comes up. But the kids know that the bag is mine and usually leave it undisturbed. Or so I thought.
For the last several months, I have returned home after visiting the grandchildren and found various hidden treasures in the bag. At first this confused me. How and when did Tavi get into my bag? And why? But as my collection of hidden treasures grows, I find that I look forward to seeing what a five year old will choose to send home with me. I have a collection of pom poms with googly eyes; a unicorn bookmark wrapped around a penny, various art projects . . . and a stroopwaffle holder that really threw me until Gene told me what it was.
I do know what the penny was for. The last time they visited Iowa, Tavi and I had a talk about money and how all my change goes into her (Disney) Vacation Fund (but we don’t say the D word as we don’t want her to lose her mind and beg to go tomorrow), and Grandpa’s change goes into Ori’s jar. I let Tavi take all the change from my purse and put it into her jar. We talked about saving now so we could have fun later. Now that we have Oona, we are going to have to change the rules a bit on whose change goes where.
Ori chooses his own path at two and a half. After their last visit, we found half a dozen matchbox cars stored around the basement in window sills, on the child’s piano (I should really send that home with them. It’s loud, LOL) and on shelves. And when we went to pack the Cozy Coop, I found a dozen acorns stowed away in the back of the coop. Gene and I just laugh as we find these treasures.
I smile as I look over these collections and know that these gifts are worth more than they can imagine. I hang them on the refrigerator and store them on shelves in my office . . . and pray that they don’t develop a fascination with dead bugs in the future!
