My Stickers For My Daughter Are Mine Again

When I was young, as many children do, I collected a variety of things. I had a baseball card collection (I still do... I should see if it is worth anything... hmmm) and a sticker collection. As the conservative, pack rat, save-it-for-a-rainy-day-and-beyond kind of boy I was, I didn't dare actually stick the stickers anywhere.

In one case, I had sent away and ordered a series of stickers by Lisa Frank from Pineapple. Of course, when I received them, I opened the brown envelope they came in, inspected them, and promptly put them away to be barely looked at again.

As time progressed, my interests changed. I stopped with the collections, but of course never discarded my existing ones. The stickers stayed in their envelope with the rest of the stickers.

And, I moved out. My stuff got boxed and was moved with me. It was never unpacked. I moved again, and again. The unused stickers were kept, buried in my collection of junk, stored somewhere in the basement.

Then, Katy was born. And she grew. And, it as it turns out, she likes stickers. And, most importantly (and thankfully) she doesn't have the same hangup about keeping everything that I did. In particular, she loves sticking stickers on everything. So, when we needed to go beyond simple stars for the potty chart, I remembered that I had a bunch of stickers that were well suited for a little girl. Of course, she loved them and was excited to get them for going on the potty.

Eventually, Katy didn't need the incentive for going on the potty. But, she didn't forget about the stickers. She will still decide that she should be entitled to a "potty sticker" on a whim, claiming she did a good job going to the potty that day. I just smile and let her have one, since the intended purpose is passed.

The fun part is that she will decide that not only did she do a good job going potty, but that I have done a good job, too. So, she will reward me with one of my old stickers, which I get to wear on my shirt. It took me twenty years to finally use these stickers, and it is my daughter who is doing it for me.