Squeaky wheel that gets the grease

Sometimes things occur that just make you slap your head and wonder, "Seriously?!!"  Last night, such a thing transpired.  It was a good day - I had cleaned out the garage, picking up every last thing from the remnants of our garage sale, and - over many trips - had donated everything I could fit in the back of my car. I was feeling good.  Soon I'd be able to park my car in the garage again!

The one last thing: the baby crib.  It had stood there since September.  The pieces were too heavy for me to lift. Also, given that I'd been unsuccessful donating any sort of child booster seat (even ones that didn't go in a car - the ones that sat on a kitchen chair) - apparently, they are a child safety hazard and no one will assume liability for selling such items - I figured no charitable organization would accept a crib.

What to do, what to do?  CraigsList was a possibility, but I didn't want strangers coming to the house (and in the garage, which houses my husband's many expensive tools).  I was dumbfounded the crib did not sell originally at the garage sale.  It is a NICE crib - wood, expensive...the type of crib you'd want to register for. There was a nibble of interest, but the woman opted against the purchase.  And it was priced to SELL.  It would have been a huge find for anyone needing it.



This past weekend, we managed to repurpose the baby crib mattress, which we brought in as a dog bed for our new addition (Bella!  A little greyhound!  So beautiful!).  But the remaining parts remained.  Finally last night, my husband began lugging the crib pieces out to the front yard in anticipation of trash day.  He'd first put out the heavy part that contained the metal springs, which we knew scrappers would quickly snag. And they did.

He struck up a conversation with our next-door neighbor Mary, who was outside and he introduced her to our new dog Bella (Mary said she looked like "a little deer").  After a few minutes of chatting, Mary looked in the direction of our curb and asked, "Is that a crib?"  My husband said yes.  She asked if it was complete.  Well no, a few minutes earlier scrappers had liberated the metal springs component.

Mary related that a family at the nearby elementary school where she volunteers was in need of a crib; people at the school were trying to collect donations for it.  Now, this is the school down the street that my daughter attends.  There is a large percentage of low income families in the district.  When my husband related this to me, I said that there has been no mention of looking for a crib in any school communications I've seen.  According to Mary, they had been keeping it quiet, so as not to embarrass the family in need.

**slaps forehead**

The irony of being desperate to unload this crib, which sat in my garage for months, and just learning of the existence of a local family in need of one -- well, it's frustrating. I don't know if there's a message here.  But if so, it might be:  if you need something or know someone in need, SPEAK UP. People are more than willing to help -- if only they know.