Mila is a hoarder. This is far from a surprise as there is a pattern of hoarding in this house. While I fully admit I hoard Christmas trees, I'm pretty quick to throw most anything else away. So, IT'S NOT MY FAULT.
Ahem.
Mila's hoards. A lot. She has boxes filled with dried up markers because if I try to throw them away, she sobs and then later digs them back out of the trash. She has piles and piles and piles of pictures that she drew because it's not good enough for her that I take photos of them and save those photos forever. She has shoes that have been too small for years because she loves them and can't stand to see them go.
But mostly she has rocks and leaves and acorns.
Every time we go for a hike, Mila spends half her time scouring the ground for acorns. She grabs as many as she can in her tiny hands. When we get back to the car, they go into her special "zipline bag" that she keeps there for exactly that purpose.
About that "zipline bag" thing - she means Ziploc, but if anyone ever corrects her, I will pelt them with 4000 acorns. I know where to find 4000 acorns, too. I don't recommend testing me.
Rocks. So many rocks. Every rock has the potential to be a "special" rock, so Mila keeps every one that she sees. Our entire patio is littered with hundreds of rocks and Mila knows if you move one of them. The unfortunate part about this is that sometimes she takes the rocks from places where I purposely put them - like in the pond. I don't know why we feel the need to go fishing for rocks, but whatever.
The leaves, though. The leaves are the thing that slays me. Every leaf is special and unique and did you know that you can hold 37 leaves in even the tiniest of hands? Mila has proven it. Multiple times.
She found the ultimate leaf last week, though.
We have a rule that we're not allowed to pull leaves (or flowers, for what it matters) off of plants, but if they're already on the ground, they are fair game. That means that when Mila turned a corner inside Phipps and saw a giant leaf on the ground, she LOST HER FREAKIN' MIND. She was so damn excited and carried that thing everywhere for the rest of the day.
And she took it home.
And it's still here.
All 2+ feet of it.
I tried to move said leaf just a tiny bit earlier today. Admittedly, it was step one of many intended to get it into the trash. But I guess Mila has some sort of alarm system set up because SHE KNEW. She sensed me looking at the leaf and magically showed up and has anyone seen my head? She ripped it off and threw it somewhere and I haven't seen it since. Her reaction was so over-the-top that I found myself googling how to preserve and frame the damn leaf.
And there it is. There is all the proof I need to know that kids will make you insane.