Remember Headless Barbie

I've often heard that in order for a person to overcome a problem they first have to acknowledge that they have a problem. They have to own it, before they can fix it. So I would like to confess that I am a pack rat. Not only am I a pack rat, but my daughter has picked up on my pack rattishness and she too has become a pack rat. I have to admit that I have trouble throwing away something that I think is perfectly good, because I fear that one day I'll wish I hadn't thrown it away. I know logically that I could run right out and buy something if I needed it, but I can't help thinking, why buy it again if I have it now and can store it for some undetermined amount of time, that doesn't seem like such a long time, especially if I could possibly need it in the future. Right? So that leads me to tell you the story of "Headless Barbie"...

I can't remember exactly when "Headless Barbie" lost her head. I remember it was awhile ago, OK, several years ago, and there were lots of tears and glue. I can't even remember which brother pulled her head off, but my daughter was very sad that Barbies' head could not be successfully glued back on. My daughter absolutely refused to throw "Headless Barbie" away, so she lived among the other Barbies, in the Barbie Box in my daughters room. This Barbie Box contained more Barbies that I care to count, along with all of the different Barbie clothes and accessories. What's a Barbie with out her clothes and accessories?

As you can imagine, "Headless Barbie" did not get invited to participate in any more pageants or fashion shows. She lived a quiet and isolated existence in the Barbie Box, virtually untouched for years. Luckily, her fellow Barbies accepted her and loved her unconditionally, and overlooked her most obvious beauty flaw. Had my daughter not been a pack rat, "Headless Barbie" would have been history. But as fate would have it, "Headless Barbie" was one day called into service, thus making every pack rat's dream come true, the ability to produce something out of the closet that should have been thrown away years ago!

You see, my youngest son had to enter a pumpkin carving contest and he wanted to create a Carnivorous (Girl Scout eating) Pumpkin. Thus the need for a sacrificial Barbie. When my daughter heard of his plan she jumped to her pack rat little feet, and said "I have just the person for your project!", wouldn't you know, she dug out "Headless Barbie" who hadn't seen the light of day in years, and she offered "Headless Barbie" to her little brother, to use in his Pumpkin Contest. I could tell she had that thrill of digging out something she had saved, and finally putting it to good use, and doing that had made her little heart go pitter patter. It's the sign of a happy pack rat.

So, after all those years in the Barbie Box, "Headless Barbie" finally had a purpose. She did a good job as "Headless Barbie" in the Carnivorous Pumpkin, and she and my youngest son won first place in the Funniest Pumpkin Category.

It just goes to show you, that old saying "haste makes waste" could possibly be true, and the next time I'm cleaning out my closet I won't be so hasty in tossing out my old junk, because I'll remember "Headless Barbie"!