Picture me waking up in the middle of the night, my hair sticking up all over the place, dehydrated and craving a glass of water. I trudge down the hall, barefoot, blindly fumbling for the light switch to the lamp in the living room, when I step on a plastic block.
I have to shove my hand into my mouth to keep from screaming, biting my tongue in the process. Oh. My. Ouch.
In the beginning, when my little one was just weeks old, I tripped over a ton of blankets, and mountains of newborn laundry. I crashed into plush little play mats, and stuffed animals. I muttered curse words under my breath then, but if I had only known the absolute horror of stepping on a plastic block with my bare foot, I’d be praying for those baby blankets to be back in my way.
This isn’t my first toy injury, either. I recently stubbed my toe on a wood activity cube, then ran smack into the bouncer as I was running to answer the door. How is it that I have a cruising, almost-walking one-year-old, and I’m the one who is sporting the bumps and bruises?
This is a whole new world for me; the last time I was tripping over toys, they were my own, so having to navigate a household that has suddenly exploded with toddler toys (thanks to all my friends and family who overloaded her on her birthday!) has become detrimental to my health.
Speaking of which, while I’m grateful for everything little S. received from family and friends for her birthday, her room could be in an advertisement for Toys ‘R’ Us, with plastic gadgets lining the walls. That beautiful nursery I meticulously decorated and organized for nine months is suddenly bursting, with nothing matching the color scheme.
It’s going to get worse, too. People will give her play kitchens, miniature make-up tables, toddler beds with canopies, and, of course, the humongous rocking horse her dad wants to buy her for Christmas. Again, I’m grateful, but it’s a lot. Maybe we should give her the master bedroom and we’ll take her room, so she can have enough space?
But watching her face explore each new toy and take on each new challenge is so rewarding, and I know we are going to have to try very hard not to spoil her. Maybe I’ll start looking for soft toys only.
