Thursday, October 21, 2010

How to Be A Boy: Collecting Things


If you are a boy, you must have lots of collections.

If you see something on the ground, or in the garbage that looks interesting, pick it up. This will be the start of a collection. A sticky Popsicle stick? Great! A beer bottle cap? Super! The feather from a bird that was recently consumed by a cat? Make sure you show it off at dinner tonight!

Rocks are great things to collect because they are everywhere. Especially if your neighbor just ordered a load of river rock to use in their landscaping project. No need to inspect the rocks for unique features or particular beauty; just pick them up and stuff them in your pockets. Your mom will find them when she does the laundry.

If you happen to live in an area where air soft pellet guns are used, you are in luck. When the shooters have gone home, comb the area for a treasure trove of little, plastic, colored balls. Carry the pellets home in your hands or pockets and put them in your sock drawer for safe keeping. Or, just leave them in your pockets and let your mom find them when she does the laundry.

Other things you might consider for collecting: marbles, foreign coins (but not domestic coins because you will want to use those for buying candy), bouncy balls, Pez dispensers, Pokemon cards, paper airplanes, pop tops, tin cans, aluminum cans, plastic water bottles, broken glass, sticks, dried leaves, Bakugan, tin foil, sports trophies, sea shells, beach sand, driftwood, Silly Bandz, rubber bands, Webkinz and comic books.

You can organize your collection in one of your mother's canning jars, or a washed out mayonnaise jar. A better option though: just keep your collections in your pockets and let your mom find them when she does the laundry.

5 comments:

Brittany Jensen said...

My four-year-old loves to pick up those little plastic pellets, too. He saves them "for Grandma" :) I think he's discovered his collections are more socially acceptable if they are "gifts." He brings me rocks...

Natalie said...

I've been meaning to do a post about this very same phenomenon. In fact, I have even taken a photo of the stuff sitting on top of my dryer. I can add to the list: paper clips, pencil top erasers, and any kind of a small plastic tube that could be used for shooting tiny things around the room. Glad to know I'm not alone.

Erika said...

Yes, I too have that same pile of "stuff" sitting on my dryer. This was a joy to read Afton. You crack me up. Someday you need to put all your "how to be a boy" in a book. Priceless, and I'm sure when your boys are old and grown they will treasure all the silly things you wrote about them.

Angela!! said...

Don't forget bark from the playground. My kids LOVE collecting this. They keep it in their shoes then shake it all over the ground when they get home and walk away. Hazel is particularly fond of the rubber "nuggets" from the playground at her preschool.

a said...

You know ladies, in the 70's clear glass ginger jar lamps were all the rage. You lifted the lid and filled them with whatever you wanted and then they were not only a lamp, but a DECORATION! Perhaps we moms of boys all need to give our sons one of these little 70's lovelies! Imagine the beauty of their little collections filling lamps and bringing light all over the house!
I can see it now. hahaha