You know those old people who end up filling their houses with towering piles of old magazines, or cats? I think that's my daughter's future.

She's a complete pack rat. We can't throw away a baby rattle, or a ripped and slobbered-upon Teletubbies book, or a toothbrush without invoking her immunity system response. WHOOP WHOOP! PART OF SELF DISAPPEARING!! I SAID WHOOP!!

I'm short on time here, so I can't get into all the gory details, but I can comment on the toothbrush fetish.

TOOTHBRUSHES??

When my daughter first started bursting into tears when we'd try to throw away her old toothbrushes, I put my foot down. This was where I drew the line at hanging onto old nostalgiac items. My wife, however, suggested that my daughter have a box that she'd keep in her room, where she'd keep "special" items such as worn and frayed toothbrushes.

So, that's what we did. Now my daughter has her special box and it's filled with toothbrushes (about 7 so far), random toys, envelopes, and other bits of crap. This is a habit that is totally foreign to me. Although my office is filled with old bits of crap, it's because I'm lazy and not because I actually desire to keep this junk around.

I hope I'm around when my daughter gets temporarily pinned under a giant stack of fallen magazines and toothbrushes, so that I can say, "I TOLD YOU SO!