Passing It On

The Great Giveaway went pretty great. The guy showed up right on time, and was chattering the moment he stepped out of his car onto our driveway. He was overflowing with excitement and anxiety about his and his wife's expectant child, due via a birth mother in October. He said they were an infertile couple who were approached by a pregnant friend who could not parent her child, and requested that they adopt the baby. He was extremely happy about the idea of parenthood, but feeling overwhelmed by the preparations. He was obviously pleased with the baby gear I was giving away and babbled in monologue the entire time as he wondered aloud how each thing worked and how it would best function in their home. This unscripted behavior convinced me that he, his story and his need were legit, which alleviated my suspicions, and my sadness. It felt great to be helping this new family get themselves assembled, and I wished right along with him that the next six months would quickly pass. He decided against some of the larger items for bigger babies because he was concerned about limited space in their apartment, so I posted them back on Freecycle and quickly placed them with other takers. We only had one taker no-show out of the whole bunch. Overall, it was a great first Freecycle experience, and I'm already searching for other things we can no longer use, but would hate to throw away. (Hmm.....How about that well-intentioned, but currently very dusty, bread machine wedding gift?) Truthfully, there are also a few Snippet Reserve Items (JJ Cole BundleMe, for starters) that I just couldn't part with, for whatever ridiculous reason, so I have stashed them in inappropriate places throughout the house until I can summon the courage to let them go. Next up on our big spring purge will be Snippet's little-baby toys, since he only uses most of them now as grenades to be launched across the room when in mid-tantrum.