As seen in the Dayton Daily News on December 20, 2014.
Too much of something and it’s no longer special.
When I reach for a cereal spoon in the morning, it brings me back in time to when my children were younger and a certain spoon caused more fights than I care to remember.
Somehow, a regular, nothing-special-about-it spoon mysteriously showed up in our home. I added it to the rest of the spoons in our drawer, even though it didn’t match the others.
One of my children named it the “special spoon” and chose it over the other spoons for her breakfast. Her siblings quickly caught on that she always chose the “special spoon” and insisted we take turns.
From that moment on, our mornings were under the spell of the spoon. My children would rush to be the first in the kitchen, snapping up the spoon so they could use it. Tears and howls from the others would ensue. I would review the week, recap who had it last and whose turn it was next.
Sometimes, my kids would wait to eat breakfast until their sibling was done, so I could wash the spoon and give it to them. Other times, I was so fed up that I declared no one was getting the spoon that day.
If you experience these same kinds of sibling battles, then you can understand the joy I felt on the day I saw our “special spoon” for sale during a shopping trip.
I snatched up a handful of “special spoons” and couldn’t wait until the next morning, knowing our morning brawl was to come to an end.
I didn’t tell the children about the new spoons. Instead, when the first child came downstairs for breakfast, I said, “Here’s the special spoon. If you want to keep it, don’t mention that you have it to the others.”
The next child entered the kitchen. Before he could get to the table, I handed him another “special spoon” and put my finger to my lips whispering, “Shhh.”
Each child was now happily eating breakfast, both thinking they were the only ones with the “special spoon.” This same scenario went on for days until one morning the gig was up. They discovered we had many “special spoons.”
From that day on, no one cared about which spoon they got. There were so many “special spoons” that they were no longer “special” and therefore no longer treasured.
I learned a very valuable lesson that day, which reminded me of a quote I once read, “Too much of something, and nothing gets treasured.”
Think about the items in your home. Do you have collections that have gotten out of control? Instead of enjoying them they have become a burden? Or have you collected too many that you don’t even pay attention to them any longer?
Even really good stuff, like photos, school projects, vacation souvenirs, inherited items and childhood collections, often get thrown in boxes and stored because you are trying to save everything instead of only the really special ones
Like the spoon who lost its “special,” so will your items if you keep everything. Saving the special ones allows you to enjoy or display them, instead of piling them up. Treasures should be cherished, not boxed up and forgotten.