Bad Poppagator! Swat!

Polite Guest is right about some parents not thinking clearly on the toy issue. I grieved for years about the panda bear (with real panda markings!) that diappeared from my toy basket. Mom didn't tell me for years that she'd secretly thrown it out because it smelled really mouldy and had that linty stuffing that's packed so tight it doesn't wash well - she had tried.

In a way, I missed my parents grown-up toys as much as my own. My Dad had a little accordion or squeeze box - it was tiny - until I was five. he sold it along with a lot of our things before we moved to Florida for a year. I remember him handsome and laughing while playing silly tunes on it for us. My Mom had a piano, which she played several times a week, until I was around eleven, when it was sold for $100 worth of grocery money. They both got joy out of those things, and it hurt me that they had to give them up for the sake of a few dollars. I felt guilty, especially about the piano.