Toy Story - Extended Ending

I remember the part of Toy Story 3 where Andy is getting ready to go off to college and has to decide which toys to put out to the road and which to put into storage - all the while, Woody, Buzz and the gang are hoping for one more chance to come out of the toy chest to be played with.  

Our boys have a lot of toys, period.  Action figures, Bey Blades, fidget spinners, Hot Wheels, little green army men, Legos, etc.  My biggest complaint is that most of these toys only get played with once or twice.

The boys have some really cool toys.  Among our favorite is this interactive castle set with an ogre, knights, cannons, catapults, and a huge dragon.  Its a well constructed set and we have diligently kept all of the pieces over the last four years.  However, in the age of video games, iPads, Nerf guns and bicycles, a toy set like this is often ignored as TJ and Grant transition from toddlers to children to boys.  

And so we made the decision to box the set with the notion of saving it for our grandchildren.  A good sturdy box with a clever description on the outside to be set aside for 25 years like a  time capsule or a treasure chest (which the castle has, by the way).  

We began to move the pieces into the box when a curious thing happened.  The boys, maybe sensing this impending loss, went into the box and began to play with the set. Invented story lines and make believe took over scripted video game narratives.

As I sit here writing this I can hear them upstairs, collaborating, arguing, compromising, and playing as childhood holds on for a while longer.