I'm glad to have discovered this magnificent sub community, and it made me think of a recent hike with my little spawn. During the rather long for her, 2 hourish and 4000 step hike, she kept collecting sticks from the ground and regularly dropping the least favorite ones to make more space in her little hands.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this story, but just wanted to say hello and I'm glad this community exists. I hope you'll stick around (badum-tss)
What I'm about to say is kind of off-topic for this community, but I remember I did the same thing as a kid, just with rocks. I also became very attached to them, and found it hard to let them go.