Comments on: Boys in Toyland

By: lora

lora — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:41:53 +0000

14! I just can’t imagine. It seems these days of trains and cars and blocks and stuff are endless. I was thinking this morning, while pretending to have fun playing with Jake, that someday I’ll miss all this.

Happy day to you both! I’m proud of you guys. 14 is quite an accomplishment.

By: Katherine Miller

Katherine Miller — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:36:11 +0000

No dont get rid of the legos. I put them in a big old trunk we had and this year (20 or 30 years later) we opened the trunk and everyone has had fun playing. The 40 year old original owner, the 6 year old grandchild (who is having a legos birthday next weekend) They have held up well and are just as colorful and good.

By: ChrisG

ChrisG — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:19:03 +0000

What a great essay! And how funny, because I JUST got rid of my 14-year-old daughter’s Barbie bus, Barbie convertible, and Barbie horse-drawn chariot. I tried to do it last year, but she said to hold off “in case we had little kids over.” I had a good secret chuckle about that.

By: lknight

lknight — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:05:56 +0000

Moving from one country to another in a hurry, I found it was easy to get rid of several of F’s “collections”, but like Emily, the Thomas treasure trove remains boxed and ready to be given to our future grandchildren.

Oddly enough I found myself being drawn into a toy shop in Wayne this vacation and ended up buying several of the items I’d gladly given away several years ago. I gave IV and V silly putty, balsa wood flyers, Pez dispensers, etc. They loved them (and only had a minor spat or two over who got what). Watching them playing with their stuff was one of the Christmas highlights for me.

By: Mr. Conductor

Mr. Conductor — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:55:31 +0000

Emily, keep those engines in the roundhouse. Those iconic toys will resonate with your boys at various points in their future. Also, they’ll be fascinating artifacts in themselves — clever, well realized and so much better made than the Chinacrap that will have displaced all quality toys by the time grandchildren come along.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:47:30 +0000

This is lovely, Jennifer. Especially since I’m just starting the saving process (so many handknit sweaters I cant bear to part with!). It gives me a roadmap of what I’ll be contending with in 14 years!

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:42:00 +0000

I have all of the boys Thomas the Tank trains stored away. I say that I am keeping them for my grandchildren one day – but that is only part of it. I cant bear to let them go as it is letting go a piece of childhood — and they were so damn expensive (did I say that out loud?) Some things will be with us forever.

By: redcrabb

redcrabb — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:38:18 +0000

On second thought, I’m not sending the box of Legos anywhere – yet.

…..and when you do send them to Griff ;0)))

By: lindacopy

lindacopy — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:25:45 +0000

I am so with you on this, Jennifer! As Ethan turns 14 this week, Legos in, outgrown coats and books that have no one to be passed down to — out. Love the photos.