I have a tote bag that I originally bought to use as a diaper bag for the times I went out with my infant granddaughter. Now she's almost 2 1/2 - and potty-trained - so I use it to carry extra hats, gloves, scarves, an umbrella, and other odds and ends.
When I cleaned the bag out recently, I found a lot more oddities than I'd realized. Somewhere along the line, my tote bag has become Adaline's treasure bag. As we walk along, she picks up little treasures and says, "I'll just put this in your bag, Gwamma, so we don't lose it."
The treasures she's collected include:
*a broken purple balloon
*a fairly large stick (suitable for dragging along iron fence rails in order to make a lot of noise)
*a pine cone
*a couple of crabapples
*a maple leaf (that she picked up and said, "Look, a maple leaf!" Good guess!)
*broken graham crackers (remains of school snacks)
*a variety of barrettes she's removed from her hair
*two packs of Curious George fruit snacks
*a battered box of yogurt raisins
*a vintage Smurf figure
*a small rock
*the remains of a "kitty cat tail" - from a container of ornamental grasses
*a penny she found on the bus
My own kids treasured their blankies above all else. Adaline has a couple of blankies but they never held her interest for long. In addition to the collection described above, Adaline is never without a baby doll - she has some nice dolls, but her favorites cost about five bucks at Walgreens (I'm pretty sure Walgreens and our small local toy store are her favorite stores in the whole world).
As the Biblical saying goes - sort of: "Where your treasure is, there is your heart." In the eyes of this little girl, there are treasures everywhere. I hope she continues to find joy and magic in the little things.
