Sentimental

When Kevin turned 2, I got him this little pine table and chairs for his birthday - someplace of his own where he could sit and color, play with play-doh, and whatnot. It was important to me to get a table with four chairs rather than just two, as I envisioned him gathering with his little friends here, and maybe even a sibling or two.

I remember that it came in a million pieces and I put it together myself. He was very excited to get it (although, if I recall correctly, not quite as excited as he was about the trike his grandma and grandpa brought him for his birthday).

That was a little over eleven years ago. This little table and chairs did, in fact, seat Kevin and his little friends, and four siblings (Finn hasn't yet mastered sitting in a chair without doing a header off of it). It withstood eleven years of abuse: being tipped and dragged, made into a fort and a makeshift operating table when the kids play doctor, being colored on, painted on, gouged with toys, stood upon, danced upon, and jumped from.

And it's started falling apart. Heck, it's been well on its way to falling apart for a while. It's rickety and wobbly, and screws fall out spontaneously.

So we got a new table and chairs, which I put together and snuck into the playroom last night after the girls were asleep so they could wake up to it this morning:

It's really cute and sturdy, and they love it.

But it was a little sad putting the old table and chairs out by the curb this morning. We figured someone would come along and take it, and hopefully fix it up and use it for their kids.

Kevin, though. He was upset. "Can't we save it?" he asked. I'm sentimental (I've hung onto each of my kids' umbilical cord stumps for goodness' sake!), but you have to draw the line somewhere, right? "How about just one of the chairs?" he implored. Ack. Guilt! I really felt bad. And I was really surprised! I had no idea he felt such an attachment to it; it's been a number of years since he's even played on it - he's far too big for it now.

The table and chairs was gone within a few minutes of being put out by the curb, just as expected.

I have no doubt that it will be just as sad when the last kid outgrows the new table and chairs.