Hector The Collector

I was breaking down a Mt. Dew box to put tin the recycle bin when my son walked in with a huge smile on his face. He literally scratched his head and said “I could use that for something.” Seriously, I just took 4 card board boxes out of his room last week.

He is a collector of things you see. This is outside our front door. Yep, it’s right there, you can’t miss it. He accumulates stuff and likes to put it in piles. I let him have his collections but I try to give him a specific amount of time it can stay there. Or, in the case of the mass that is collecting outside, when we have real guests over it has to go.

My oldest son was never a collector and could easily get rid of things but this one however, no he has to ponder it a little while. I believe it is good to have a healthy balance though. I don’t expect him to part with things as easily as his siblings. I Actually like the fact that he uses his imagination with run of the mill things.

He reminds me of a client I am working with. Her mind runs wild when she sees the possibilities in fabrics and all the crafty bits and pieces. Sometimes however, we have to harness that energy into the projects already started or the supplies we already own instead of buying more on top of it and adding to the clutter. I wish I were as crafty as her though!

Do you have healthy collections or is it becoming clutter?

And no my son’s name is not Hector. But you can read one of my all time favorite Shel Silverstein poems to find out who Hector is…

HECTOR THE COLLECTOR
by Shel Silverstein

Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin’ guns that wouldn’t shoot,
Leaky boats that wouldn’t float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn’t toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
‘Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul‹
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin’ gold.
Hector called to all the people,
“Come and share my treasure trunk!”
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked…and called it junk.

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