The Endless Bag

In the Tree House: The Endless Bag

By: Samantha S. Daviss

If you listen to country and western music at all, then you have probably heard the song by Robert Earl Keen, Five Pound Bass, it is one of his all time classics. Well the reason I bring this up, is to enlighten you into the throes of my diaper bag conundrums that I encounter from lugging around my massive diaper bag on a daily basis.

I always tell people you wouldn’t know it by my physique because I am not some exercise guru, or marathon queen, but I always say I can bench press a Buick. And from the daily happenings in my life with typically one 36-pounder on one hip; a 25-pounder on the other; a purse and this THING that I kindly refer to as a diaper bag…it is actually so heavy, I have to put both my boys in my double stroller before I can attach the bag to the handle of the stroller for the pure fact that it will dump over.

I never really thought about just how heavy it really was until my girlfriend picked it up for me one day to throw it into my stroller. I’ve always joked about it, and stated the obvious, that I have everything in it except for the kitchen sink. But in reality, I really think I do have everything in my diaper bag.

So upon her revelation of just how heavy my diaper bag was it got me thinking…hmmmm I wander just exactly what “The Beast” weighs? Well, it sure weighs more than that 5-pound bass…so I’ve decided to send Mr. Keen a rendition of his song, entitled 15-Pound Diaper Bag, making the lyrics about all its possessions and the daily activities it has to endure.

Ode of the diaper bag…

I know I am important, because she never leaves home without me.

My seams hurt on a daily basis because they are literally busting;

But my possessions are oh so important to the little people that sit on me, drag me, and ride me like a horse

In my depths you will find diapers, wipes, toy trucks and tiny little cars

Coloring books, crayons, snacks for all ages…and let’s not forget their sippy cups filled with juice

I also harbor a small first aid kit, a change of clothes for them both if there is an “accident”, and a bee sting kit just in case

Two blankets, sunscreen, bug spray, a rubber snake, a bendy bunny rabbit, and books for their learning enjoyment

And let’s not forget what’s inside the bag that’s inside me—powder, Clorox wipes, diaper rash cream, and any sort of baby paraphernalia you might need for an afternoon outing

So that is what’s on my insides, but my daily adventures are forces to be reckoned with

I get lifted, thrown into the back of the car, set on the dirty floor, hung from the stroller

Spilled on, colored on, crawled on, stepped on, loaded on top of

Yet at the end of the day I know I have served my purpose and been the best diaper bag that I could be, I was there for my family when they needed me.

I know talking about our diaper bag seems silly, but there are just some things in life that get overlooked that we take for granted that it will always be there at our beckon call, like a silly ol’ diaper bag. Now this isn’t necessarily about the life of our diaper bag, what’s in it, and what it has to go through on a daily basis…but it is about all of us recognizing the important things in our lives that we may overlook to be the simplest of objects or the people in our lives that we may overlook and take for granted.

Because one day you may turn around and that so-called “diaper bag” may be in shreds, torn, busted at the seams and needing to be discarded. So it is always important to pay attention and realize the importance of that “diaper bag” in your life and what it sacrifices for you on a daily basis.

Be kind to all of those around you, all those you love, and never leave each other’s sight without letting them know just exactly how you feel about them. My friends all make fun of me that when I leave them [and my family] for any period of time, I cry. It is a mixture of happy tears and sad tears, but nonetheless tears. They don’t last long, and I don’t make a big dramatic play of it, but in hindsight, my friends and family never ever walk away from me wondering where they stand in my life and in my heart.