We All Need Things to Treasure

The sound of me doing the weekly hoovering in the living room had sent Bob scuttling off upstairs. He didn’t much like it.

I’d not cleaned under the sofa for a while, so decided to slide it across the carpet to get the hoover underneath. I had been amazed at what I found.

It was like an Aladdin’s cave of Bob’s stuff.

He is regularly given and sent toys by fans from all over the world and plays with lots of them. Somehow, he had dragged a collection of toy animals, balls and assorted toys here. But this wasn’t all. Bob had developed a habit of playing with plastic bottle lids that he found in the kitchen.

He had somehow hoarded about a dozen of them as well.

I threw the lids in the bin, but put the toys back into the large box in the hall.

I was intrigued. Why had he hoarded like this?

It wasn’t too long after we had moved house. Had he been concerned that this new environment may contain other cats or animals who might steal his toys? Or was it his way of making sure his toys were safe from me? He had seen me bring in new furniture – and get rid of some other things. Was he concerned about me throwing his toys away?

Whatever the explanation, one thing was clear. These things were important to him. Knowing they were there made him feel safe and secure. Thinking about it, again, I realised that I was no different.

I was protective of certain things – photos, gifts from fans, books, mementoes from my travels – and had made sure I had safe places to keep them, in my living room and office. It was less to do with the fact they were worth anything, but more because they were of immense value to me.

It’s all part of that need to feel that our home – and the precious things that make it feel like a home – are safe and secure.