Over the weekend, we had our traditional Burda family labor day. We cleaned. Now before I sound too much like a martyr, we also took in a Husker game, spent a day at Capitol beach with a friend and visited the Farmer's Market.

This year, as we cleaned we also purged. Childrens' toys from 5 and 10 years ago were discarded. Except for a handful of Wild Thornberry's dolls. The show appears to be off the air. I am happy that it was broadcast when Cecilia was little.

The Thornberry's were a family of wildlife photographers. The father narrated and the mother videographed. The voice of the father was Tim Curry. It never failed to make me smile when I heard Tim Curry's voice come through. The same voice of Dr. Frank-n-Furter in the movie version of Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a part of my weekends during my freshman year in college. I listened to the music well after my freshman year. I found it interesting that Tim Curry and I had aged in similar ways.

Eliza, the start of the cartoon series, was the youngest of two daughters. Eliza could speak to animals. She was very smart and adventurous.

I thought that Eliza was a perfect role model for Cecilia. Now, Cecilia is becoming that girl.

Over the weekend, I was adamant that we would cull and cull hard. As we dug through the piles of toys, I remembered many things but I was quick to find a receptacle for most of it. Some things we stored. Some we recycled. Some we donated.

But the Thornberry dolls represented hope for the future. The potential life that I had hoped for Cecilia. I could not toss those.

But the dolls are from another time in our life so it did not make sense to leave them collecting dust. So this morning, they made the journey to my office. In 5 or 10 years from now, I will look at those dolls and know that Eliza - probably a mother somewhere, would be proud of my Cecilia.