Please Spay and Neuter Pets, Stuffed Ones Too.

They enter the house.  Cute, cuddly, and clinging to your child’s arm they are initially welcomed only to join the cluster of leftover stuffed friends growing armies of dust mites in the corner.

Time to clean out the junk.  Old jeans, gone.  Torn coloring books, bye-bye.  Your husband’s rotting flip-flops, oh yeah later skater.  You think you are tough on crap.  That’s right, de-junk is one of my many middle names.  Well then, bring it!

In this corner, Mom.

In this corner, Blue Teddy, Bevo, Bok-Bok, Bruce, and Luv.  Ding-ding.

Mom grabs Blue T.  Pause.  “Why are you looking at me like that?”  Teddy pulls the cuddle factor and shines his plastic eyes with all the intensity of a lost puppy.  Teddy wins.  Mom grabs Bevo.  “Oh, you’re so soft.”  Bevo is back in business.  Bok-Bok, “wait Bok-Bok you’re so special.  OK I’ll sew up your slit sides to keep the beans made-in-china in your gut.”  NEXT?!

Finally Mom has got a few friends ready for departure from the property.  She takes them GOODWILL so that some other child may enjoy them.  Surely, surely some kid is just dreaming of a used, defluffed purple rabbit with half an ear.

“Um, Ma’m,” says the GOODWILL-er, “We don’t accept stuffed animals.”  What?  That’s right.  And she will get a “NO” at the salvation army, the YMCA, and her church.

“But,” she asks with a slight whine, “What am I to do with these used toys.”

“Most people throw them away.”

Open jaw.  Pitch panda?  She returns home to stare at the trash cans.  She can’t do it.  Dang it!  She buries the bead eyed bad toys at the bottom of the donation bag.  Jeans, books, and shoes pile on top of them and she returns to GOODWILL.

“Any stuffed animals?”

“No,” she lies through her teeth, “Just some clothes.”  She knows that rabbit will hit the dumpster as soon as he is discovered hiding amongst the Levi’s, but well, it will be on someone elses’ conscience.

~ by drea on August 15, 2009.