1. Posted by Maureen Griffin on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 9:59 AM (EST):
I’m betting that it’s one of the few places that are out of reach for the younger ones so his stuff is safe from them.
What a Boy Does
Posted by Danielle Bean in Family on Saturday, September 06, 2008 9:49 AM
The other day, while I was putting away laundry, I opened 7-year-old Stephen’s dresser drawer and found a surprise.
All his underwear and t-shirts had been removed. In their place was what you see here: tape, scissors, glue, a batting glove, gum, a torn-off pants pocket, paper, string, precious boxes containing precious secret items, and the “number seven” candle from his recent birthday cake.
“Stephen!” I called down the stairs. “Where are your clothes?”
“Oh! ... Um ... don’t touch anything!” he stammered as he raced up the stairs.
He arrived breathlessly and placed his body between me and the drawer.
“This is where I keep my stuff now,” he explained.
“Okayyyy,” I smiled. “But where should I put your clean laundry then?”
“You can just put it with all the clothes I took out of here,” he answered matter-of-factly as he waved one arm in the direction of his closet.
Had he really hung his t-shirts and underwear? Um, no.
I searched where he was gesturing until a mound of balled up clothing on the floor caught my eye. I stepped closer to investigate and sure enough, here were his underthings. Pairs of underwear were neatly rolled in the center of a thick bundle of t-shirts.
The Mean Mama in me was ready to insist that these items be returned to the drawer. But this time Old Softie (that sweet motherly persona whom my kids adore ... and abuse) prevailed.
Old Softie made some room in a separate dresser drawer where Stephen could keep his clothing and placed it there, neatly folded. She then admired the coolness of his new “stuff space” and promised never to open the drawer again without permission.
But even Old Softie has her limits. All bets are off if it starts to smell. Or leak.
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Comments
2. Posted by claudia on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 11:50 AM (EST):
This is sweet. My daughter, age 9, has not one, but two “junk” drawers. I have tried unsuccessfully to try to tell her to at least get it down to one. There is also more on the closet shelves. What do you have your children do with their “stuff”?
3. Posted by Milehimama [website] on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 12:47 PM (EST):
Two years ago, we bought our (then) 7 yo a metal toolbox to keep his “stuff” in (the little messed up his Bionicles).
It’s still in use every day and his favorite thing in the world. And the first place I look when I’m missing my Sharpie.
4. Posted by Lindy [website] on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 1:47 PM (EST):
This is just like my 10 year old son. The picture above is nearly identicle to what a picture of his dresser drawer would look like. He saves everything and much to my surprise, has an emotional or sentimental value attached to each tiny, seemingly insignificant thing he saves. We’ve actually given him two tackle box like boxes for him to keep stuff in but they are filled and he returns to the dresser drawer for storage. These boxes are where I too turn to look for my sharpie, the screwdriver, that package of gum I thought I had hidden but is now mysteriously missing. I’m a softie too and give up the space for laundry storage. Gotta love it.
5. Posted by Maurisa [website] on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 5:00 PM (EST):
This reminds me so much of our oldest son. He has drawers and bins filled with his treasures and pages and pages of numbers or stats he keeps of various things, which has earned him the nickname of Stat Boy in our family. We did reclaim the dresser for clothes, with the promise that his bins and boxes would remain untouched by me. 
6. Posted by Diane on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 10:19 PM (EST):
Smell or leak huh ? How about cause the family dog to bark ? Years ago when my daughter was about that age,she had taken a ham chub up to her room as a late evening snack. She had misjudged the size of the chub in proportion to her hunger and was full before she was half done. She put a napkin in her desk drawer and placed the chub in until she was hungry again and she went to bed . A little later the dog wandered in and smelled the ham. Clawing the drawer didn’t get him what he wanted so he sat eyes fixed on the drawer and barked . After hearing his constant barking, which was out of character for him, my husband went to investigate. cautiously he opened the drawer expecting something like a mouse and there was the ham, which the dog jumped up and grabbed. Thankfully we have never had another incident.
7. Posted by Hieyeglasses [website] on Tuesday, Sep 9, 2008 9:08 AM (EST):
We have to learn how to respect them slowly.
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