I'm bipolar like that.
So, yesterday I said goodbye to a friend that I didn't know was a friend until I said goodbye. This friend came into my life when I was about two months pregnant with CC and struggling with some pretty gnarly morning sickness. Jaunts to Disneyland with Malia were getting hot and exhausting - but the umbrella stroller just wasn't cuttin' it for storage reasons and my other stroller was too heavy and cumbersome. So when I stumbled upon this lightweight, but durable, little baby at Burlington Coat Factory one afternoon, I was sold:
We've been through a lot, this guy and I. When CC was born, I bought a car seat that was compatible with it because I loved it so much, and my mother-in-law bought me the doubles version of it. Before CC was able to sit up on her own, however, I would carry her in the Bjorn and Malia would sit in the trusty green single pictured above. And whenever we'd travel and knew that lugging around the double would just be.... well, stupid... we brought the single. It has seen the world (well, technically - it's only seen Utah, Washington, California, and very little of Nevada). But still.
Lately a friend of mine and I have been walking/jogging together every other morning after dropping our daughters off at pre-school. This friend has a jogging stroller, and maneuverability was something she seemed to handle with ease, while I struggled over every pothole, crack, and rock. And then, two weeks ago, my stroller started breaking in strange places. It's life expectancy was waning, to say the least. So, I started investigating strollers, and after a facebook conversation (as well as a "discussion"/debate/etc. with the hubby), I decided to invest in a ridiculously expensive, albeit "worth it," replacement.
This post is not to tell you about my investment history, however. It's about the fact that when I took that little lime green single Combi out to the dumpster to toss it, I decided to leave it NEXT to the garbage bin in case someone felt they were desperate enough to need it. And as I walked away, glancing one last time at it over my shoulder....
... I got emotional! How embarrassing is that?! I mean, "Who cries over a stroller?!" (those were my husband's exact words when I came into the house with a frown on my face, saying, "that was strangely bittersweet").
I'll tell you who! Someone who has seen a lot of memories with that thing! I'm no packrat. Trust me. But I could see, for the first time, why some people horde crap for emotional reasons. I had just tossed 2 1/2 years of memories and milestones!
I went back outside about 5 minutes later - not to bronze the thing and put it on a plaque, mind you - but to take a picture of my "friend" out there, all by it's lonesome by the dumpster, for the purposes of this blog.
And it was already gone.
Farewell, my friend. Enjoy your new memories. And who knows? Maybe your new companions will spill far less juice onto your face.....
8 comments:
I'd love to know what you replaced it with because I'm considering a new stroller too :)
Hahaha, I love this :) But I totally don't blame you for being sentimental over a stroller. We're HOPING to move out of this apartment in a couple of months (if we get a dang HOUSE), and I'm already so sentimental over an apartment we've only lived in for 10 months. But, I brought home my newborn Aaron here! This is where I came home and cried on John's shoulder while trying to tell him Jonathan was autistic (I know, that sounds like a bad memory, but it is important to our history). This is already the place of so many firsts, and we haven't even lived here very long. Sigh.
it was already gone?!! no way!
ok, this post just made me laugh. but i totally get sentimentally attached to stuff like that too. i just dejunked all of our boy clothes that oliver had grown out of since we don't need boy clothes anymore and it was kind of hard for me!! but i've had all 3 of my boys wear most of them... they all have memories to go with them!
*sigh*
Bittersweet indeed. I know I'd be emotional too. :D
Now...where's that post on the awesome new stroller? Still waiting on the new part? I can't wait to hear your review of it.
Haha! Awww... farewell, good Combi. I totally get the emotional attachment to inanimate objects. I was really sad when we sold our old kitchen table on Craigslist, because it was FIRST table that we ever owned as a married couple, and we'd had it for years. (But I wasn't sad enough to hoard it. Those hoarding shows are disturbing. Haha!)
When my violin was stolen I cried much longer over the lost memories of playing that violin then over the lost monetary value...you inherited some of your insanity.
Reminds me of how I felt like a fool tearing up when our first car died and we had to junk it for a new one. We'd driven into the sunset on our wedding day in that car! Had many a date in that car. Funny how we can get so attached to inanimate things - with so many memories, it's like they're part of the family. :)
I love this post!!! Its so true! The stroller really goes everywhere with you and becomes another member of the family. Its hard to see our kids outgrow things.
You are SO awesome Tiffany!! You really are! I love reading your blog and reading your thoughts on everything! :)
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