Tossing Away Childhood

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We have big garbage this weekend so the huge chore has been cleaning out the garage.

This time we were going to go all in.

I found a box filled with Pokémon figurines and some Barney tapes.

My youngest kid is 20.

I was good and detached about all of it until I moved the toy box filled with balls.

A poster floated to the ground.

“Chris Jericho is the best.”

We had spent an entire afternoon making that poster before we headed to the arena for the wrestling matches.

We went a couple of times...

Me, Jake, Sam and Uncle Chuck.

My heart skipped a few beats. Then it got sad. Their hockey sticks, a bean bag game that was all the rage for a little while.

We have about 30 tennis rackets...

...I’ve never seen any of my kids ever hit a tennis ball.

We moved the three bikes that haven’t been moved since about 2012 to the road with a sign that read, ‘FREE’.

The bikes were gone in less than an hour.

During the sweeping up of the mess they left behind the toy box I started to feel more than sad.

Their spikes were back there from their little league games.

I thought about Sam striking out and then tripping over the bat after the ball got by the catcher.

He laid in the dirt, looking up and me and laughing as hard as I was.

I recalled Jake ripping a double down the 3rd base line. It was the only hit anyone on his team got that day.

I paid him $10 that day.

Matt’s hockey stick was there. I paid him $10 when he scored on a breakaway. Top shelf where Momma’ hides the cookies.

Everyone told us that it all goes whizzing by.

Then I opened the set of lockers we got for them.

There weren’t any cute games in there.

No old sports shoes.

The lockers were jammed with empty beer bottles!

I laughed.

I haven’t drank beer regularly since 2010.

Those weren’t my empty cans.

They grew up.

I liked them better in little league than playing beer pong.

The place is clean...

...I didn’t throw all of it away.

Kept a little something from each of them as children.

The Jericho sign is stuffed behind the lockers.

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