Pack Rat Day and Art Fishbottom the Cubby Creature

So on the "outrageous holidays" calendar, I find that today is Pack Rat Day.  When I first saw it, I thought it was "Rat Pack Day," and was hoping for any excuse to break out some Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. recordings.  No such luck.  Pack Rat Day--a day to celebrate being a pack rat, keep things you think you might need, hang on to things that have no use whatsoever, and just be who you are for the day.  Hrmph.  I've been called a pack rat and it's never ever been in flattering tones.  Ever.  In fact, it has been downright hurtful that folks who know exactly how to organize and how to keep things neat and tidy seem to judge me for not having the same skill set as they do.  So, I'm not really celebating this particular holiday.  I'll celebrate Norwegian Independence Day instead.  :)

But while my daughter watched Sesame Street, there was a strange new visitor to Abby's Flying Fairy School.  It was Art Fishbottom, the cubby creature.  He comes in and out of the cubbies where the fairies keep their scarves and hats and coats--and steals them.  The fairies ultimately find his hideaway only to find that he is...a packrat.  In a few magical minutes, they convince him to give back all the things he has stolen and he realizes how good it feels to give stuff away.  He is a changed cubby creature.

Well, Art Fishbottom...you and I seem to be cut from the same cloth, except for the stealing part, of course.  But I seem to feel the need to hang onto other people's things.  If they're getting rid of something and I see some potential value...oh, I'm all over it.

So, to celebrate pack rat day, I'm putting a few books in my car to be dropped off at the library.  Books that I spent good money on (at New York's famous Strand Book Store) and haven't read yet.  Books that have been sitting in garage boxes for over three years now.  Almost four.  Books that I really do want to read.  But they're gathering dust.  So perhaps in the meantime, someone else can read them.  And when my sweet girl starts going to school, maybe I'll take up reading for pleasure again.

In the meantime, thank you for the lesson, Abby's Flying Fairy School.  You're teaching more than just sweet young babies how to twinkle-think.  And while I continue the journey, I'm going to play some Sinatra, in honor of the holiday I really wanted.