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Dec. 18th, 2007 01:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckThe dishwasher is running. I resorted to the desperate measure of cleaning out the refrigerator in order to fill the dishwasher, but I managed a reasonably full load.
I'm now contemplating which of Delia's toys I can get rid of when she's not looking. I think she won't miss the playdough dinosaur set. It's badly designed, and she figured out quickly that she couldn't do much with it. I'm not sure I can find all the pieces at once, so I'll probably throw it out rather than donating it. She might miss the playdough zoo animals but probably not much. It might be possible to donate that set. Delia had fun with it but never wanted to play with it on her own. She only wanted to watch me make animals. The singing birthday monster that my father sent her for her third birthday is going in the trash. The motor is going, and the wires in the limbs have started to protrude through the cloth. It might be repairable, but...
I might cull her crayon collection. Scott, without consulting me, bought her one of those huge boxes of crayons, so she's going to have more than enough. Maybe her pre-school could use the old ones. Do kids in those settings actually use the broken, peeled crayons or do they just stick with the ones that still look nice?
I'm also contemplating my to-be-read shelves. How many years is it reasonable to keep a book without reading it? I have books there that I've owned longer than Delia's been alive. They're things that look like stuff that I'd love. Well, like stuff that I *used* to love. They're longer or otherwise more challenging than most of what I'm successfully reading these days. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to read thick fantasy novels or thinky SF again.
I've even started some of those books. I know that they're good (the ones that I started that weren't are already gone). I just can't seem to read them.
I think I'm a bit afraid of getting rid of them and never being able to find them again if things do change enough that I can read them again. I also dislike the idea of buying them again if things change and the idea of having spent $$ and space on them just to discard them unread.
I'm doing less reading and a lot less re-reading now than I used to. I don't really expect to re-read anything that's on my shelves (barring writing fic for it) any time soon. That may change when Delia's in school full time. I don't know. The closest I get to re-reading these days is looking at the books on the shelf and smiling at them. Seeing books that I enjoyed reading gives me an echo of the pleasure I experienced on reading them. It's rather like waving at a friend and getting a hug in passing. That makes getting rid of books very, very hard.
I also won't know for many years which books Delia will be interested in (if any). I want to share the books that I love with Delia. My mother would say that anybody sensible would just assume that the library has everything that one needs, but I don't agree. Still... I've got a lot of books.
How do you decide what to get rid of?
I'm now contemplating which of Delia's toys I can get rid of when she's not looking. I think she won't miss the playdough dinosaur set. It's badly designed, and she figured out quickly that she couldn't do much with it. I'm not sure I can find all the pieces at once, so I'll probably throw it out rather than donating it. She might miss the playdough zoo animals but probably not much. It might be possible to donate that set. Delia had fun with it but never wanted to play with it on her own. She only wanted to watch me make animals. The singing birthday monster that my father sent her for her third birthday is going in the trash. The motor is going, and the wires in the limbs have started to protrude through the cloth. It might be repairable, but...
I might cull her crayon collection. Scott, without consulting me, bought her one of those huge boxes of crayons, so she's going to have more than enough. Maybe her pre-school could use the old ones. Do kids in those settings actually use the broken, peeled crayons or do they just stick with the ones that still look nice?
I'm also contemplating my to-be-read shelves. How many years is it reasonable to keep a book without reading it? I have books there that I've owned longer than Delia's been alive. They're things that look like stuff that I'd love. Well, like stuff that I *used* to love. They're longer or otherwise more challenging than most of what I'm successfully reading these days. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to read thick fantasy novels or thinky SF again.
I've even started some of those books. I know that they're good (the ones that I started that weren't are already gone). I just can't seem to read them.
I think I'm a bit afraid of getting rid of them and never being able to find them again if things do change enough that I can read them again. I also dislike the idea of buying them again if things change and the idea of having spent $$ and space on them just to discard them unread.
I'm doing less reading and a lot less re-reading now than I used to. I don't really expect to re-read anything that's on my shelves (barring writing fic for it) any time soon. That may change when Delia's in school full time. I don't know. The closest I get to re-reading these days is looking at the books on the shelf and smiling at them. Seeing books that I enjoyed reading gives me an echo of the pleasure I experienced on reading them. It's rather like waving at a friend and getting a hug in passing. That makes getting rid of books very, very hard.
I also won't know for many years which books Delia will be interested in (if any). I want to share the books that I love with Delia. My mother would say that anybody sensible would just assume that the library has everything that one needs, but I don't agree. Still... I've got a lot of books.
How do you decide what to get rid of?
