I’m a HUGE lover of the show Friends. I miss it dearly. Last night I was preparing a donation for Big Sisters of Rhode Island and was immediately brought back to an episode in season 8 The One With The Secret Closet. Monica was very, shall we say Virgo. She liked things in a particular way, everything had its place, that is just how it was supposed to be. But honestly, how can ANYONE be that organized? Maybe some of you didn’t know this but Monica had a “secret closet.” Things that didn’t have a home were put into the closet and the closet was locked. No one knew about this. It didn’t come out until the eighth season!

Now I don’t have a closet, I have a small ROOM. A room that is the catch-all of EVERYTHING. Clothes, baby stuff, books, toys, electronics…you name it. If I don’t know what to do with it or I think we will need it down the road…it goes into the ROOM. Well I finally called Big Sisters to set up a date for a donation pick-up. This gave me a deadline….January 26th. Over the weekend I went through clothes, AGAIN, and put together a couple of bags. I packed up some blankets and crib sheets and other baby things we will no longer need. The books I had been selling on half.com were also boxed and ready for donation. The ROOM was finally getting cleared out. And then I saw it. The one item I keep moving around the house, from the boys’ room, to the toy room, to the ROOM. Rocket! I LOVE Rocket. Logan’s Rocket costume, you know Rocket from the Little Einsteins? Before Logan became obsessed with dinosaurs there was Little Einsteins. When his Rocket costume first came in the mail he wore it around the house for a week. This would be his first Halloween where he would actually walk the neighborhood trick-or-treating. He was two.

I know I can’t hang on to these things forever. He’s six now and his younger brothers have no interest in Rocket. I reluctantly put Rocket in the donation bag. My husband then comes upstairs, “You’re getting rid of Rocket!” Then we both got overly emotional about it. My husband suggested I ask Logan if it’s okay to donate him (I think he was secretly hoping Logan would say keep it!). My sweet boy told me to donate it to someone who doesn’t have a costume. So I did, and my heart hurts. Bye, bye Rocket. I have the photos, but letting it go still hurts a bit. It’s admitting that they are getting older so quickly. I would love to keep everything but that’s just silly. Time to get my ROOM back, maybe turn it into an office rather than a catch-all of crap. Except, it’s not all crap…they’re our memories. A sad farewell to Rocket. I hope he makes some little kid out there as happy as he made my Logan.