<\/a>The plate is at the top of the stairs, where we put stuff we\u2019re ready to donate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s odd,\u201d I think to myself. But things have ended up in stranger places when my husband unloads the dishwasher. Jonathan\u00a0forgives my never remembering how to use the flash drive, and I forgive his never knowing where anything goes.<\/p>\n

I put the plate back in the cupboard. Jonathan\u00a0takes it out again.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we really need this anymore?\u201d he sighs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes! \u201d \u00a0I reply, a little too adamantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee if you can move it somewhere else. It\u2019s in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smiling dinosaurs in bright colors chase each other around the plate\u2019s rim. Three separate compartments enforce the First Commandment of Children\u2019s Food: Thou Shalt Not Touch. Smooth melamine ridges segregate the applesauce from the mac and cheese. Suspicious interlopers like spinach are safely sequestered in their own tiny corral. The brave toddler who stomachs the two-bite portion is rewarded by uncovering twin baby triceratops frolicking with their delighted mom. She, no doubt, is also encouraging her offspring\u2019s herbivorous adventures.<\/p>\n

My wary toddlers are now 23\u00a0and 26. They favor fusion foods and can be trusted with dishes that shatter.<\/p>\n

Still, I need this plate. The dinosaur era is one of the sweeter pleasures of parenting. What other passions appeal to both sexes, all ages, inspire awe, and transform a trip to the museum from torture into an adventure? Besides, I have packed so much away in packing my children off to adulthood; I\u2019m not yet ready to say goodbye to the little green creature hatching out of its eggshell. Maybe our grandchildren will eat from this plate someday, discerning T-rexes from brontosauruses as they diddle with their vegetables.<\/p>\n

My husband\u2019s ready, though. He wants to clear out the cupboards to make room for what the children\u2019s needs have obscured. What might we assemble together without all the clutter?<\/p>\n

With one last fond sigh, I put the plate on the donate\u00a0pile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The plate is at the top of the stairs, where we put stuff we\u2019re ready to donate. \u201cThat\u2019s odd,\u201d I think to myself. But things have ended up in stranger places when my husband unloads the dishwasher. Jonathan\u00a0forgives my never … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,8,9],"tags":[10,73,240],"class_list":["post-702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-domestic-front","category-personal","category-empty-nest","tag-empty-nest-2","tag-letting-go","tag-decluttering"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2F8Ch-bk","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=702"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":707,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions\/707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}