Updated: August 21, 2023
Originally Published: August 14, 2021
Dear Kids,
I adore each one of you—that’s a given. One of you, without naming names, has already outgrown my little game where I whisper “I have a secret” and follow it up with “I love you dearly.” Your eye roll gives you away, but guess what? I will keep expressing my love for you a million times a day, and that will never change. One day, when you have kids of your own, you’ll do the very same thing.
Now, let’s shift gears and discuss an important topic. I love you (yes, again!), and that love extends to everything you create with those wonderfully tiny (if not slightly messy) hands. As we get ready for another school year—one of you starting preschool and another heading into kindergarten—I’m anticipating all the family trees, pumpkins, snowmen, and various crafts you will bring home. But I need to ask you to dial it back just a little on the amount of artwork you produce.
When I say “artwork,” I mean a whole range of things: your drawings, paintings, craft projects, those pages you’ve torn from activity books to color and decorate with stickers, the random Post-Its I find scattered around with your secret symbols, and even those blank-looking sheets that have a few barely-there squiggles. I hope you catch my drift.
But why, you might wonder? Simply put, we don’t have enough space—be it on the fridge, walls, corkboards, desks, floors, shelves, closets, drawers, or even in the car or purse—to display each and every masterpiece you create.
And here’s the truth that might sting a bit: not everything you draw is a keeper. Some of those papers are practically blank, and those glittery bits of paper you don’t even remember making? Yeah, they do get stuck to my feet. I must confess, some of your drawings have indeed found their way to the trash can (or should I say “recycling bin” to ease your minds?). That’s right—Mommy put them there on purpose. Our most-used filing cabinet? It’s the trash can.
Now, before you scrunch your noses in disapproval, let me tell you this: you’ll thank me down the road. Why? Because you wouldn’t want to deal with the mortgage payments on the multiple houses we’d need just to store your artwork. And trust me, when you grow up, you won’t want to tackle the 83 million boxes of old art I’d be pushing on you the moment you get your own place.
I know this from personal experience. My dear Gramma (hi, Grandma, you know I love you!) saved everything I ever created in boxes, and as I got older, she begged me to take them because they were taking up too much space. Why? Because there was just too much stuff! Sure, it was fun revisiting all my “talent” as a child, but I had no idea what to do with those musty old boxes cluttering my space.
That said, I do believe some pieces deserve a spot in our hearts forever. So, how about we make a pact moving forward? I know it’s tough to think about me tossing your hard work. I promise I won’t just throw things away without thought anymore (although I will admit I felt a bit guilty when you found your artwork in the trash). If you want to keep something, we can! Let’s do a regular rotation—monthly sounds realistic, maybe twice a year—where we evaluate what truly deserves to be saved.
If you still want to hold onto something after its display time, let’s capture it with a photo. We can save them on my computer, a CD, thumb drive, or even our “cloud.” This way, we can recycle the physical art while still preserving the memories without the risk of yellowing or that strange basement smell. And who knows? If you feel inspired to create something new with those photos down the line, I’ll be excited to see it!
So, what do you say? Do we have a deal? I’m looking forward to all your future creations, but don’t expect me to keep every single one.
Love,
Mommy
P.S. For more insights on parenting and creativity, check out our post on artwork. And if you’re interested in home insemination products, CryoBaby offers reliable kits. For great information on pregnancy and home insemination, visit CDC.
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