Sentimental "Trash"

I have a heartless rule about the artwork that's allowed to come into my house.  If there is even a speck of glitter, it'll quietly make its way into the trash can.  

While I'm a very sentimental person and have saved a plethora of random items through the years (scribbled napkins with funny art, water-stained notes from boyfriends past, even tiny knick-knacks from elementary school that have special meaning), I have a strict "No junk" policy in effect for both myself and my children.  

Since he started school, I've kept a box for artwork I wanted to save.  More than 90% of his art never makes it into this box, because let's be honest... he isn't going to know about, care about, or remember the million hand turkeys he's been made to create over his elementary experience. However, for those gems that make the cut... I'll treasure them always.  

Tonight, as I was preparing his school bag for Monday, I found a crumpled necklace.  Bright yellow string held a big circle that I figured was a name badge of sorts. The front looks like this:

Cute, I thought, but you're going into the trash.  A tiny part of me felt guilty, as it always does, when I make this decision, but keeping the clutter at a minimum is a necessary part of my strategy to stay sane.  

However, I flipped it over to see my son's handiwork before I let it fall into the trash.  This is what greeted me:

His name is written in the white box, and it's big and all over the place.  He had drawn in orange and red hearts, but more importantly, he wrote "MOMMY" in clear, controlled letters.  

My own heart melted, then.  He'd thought of me during his religion lesson.  He wanted to write my name with his and put a bunch of hearts all around it.  My sweet, beautiful, loving little boy. Had he not already been sound asleep, I would have collected him into my lap and showered a thousand kisses on his cheeks.  Seeing "MOMMY" there... my name - who I am to him and who he gave me the gift of becoming - it gave me such a jolt of joy that I can't properly express it.  

He is such a gift.  

So while the school year is starting off a little more roughly than I'd hoped, I know his beautiful little heart is in the right place and hopefully, with a lot of prayer, patience and work, he can blossom into the student I know he can be.  

So no trash for this gem.  This one is for keeps.  <3