April Showers and a Little Hoarding

It rained last night.  The first real "April showers brings May flowers" kind of rain.  When we stepped out the door this morning and breathed in the fresh air it was euphoric.  It was that moist, clean, April fresh air that I've been waiting for.  This morning was the proof for all the non-morning loving people in the world...that it is the best part of the day.  I wanted to strap the girls in the stroller and go for a walk.  Maybe pick up a coffee and swing by the park and watch the girls play while I sipped the warm, liquid gold and closed my eyes while inhaling the combination of the coffee aroma and remnants of the spring rain.

That's what I wanted to do.  Instead I strapped the girls in their car seats and we headed off to work, preschool, and daycare and we made the best of a beautiful spring morning.  We wore our sunglasses and Callie requested that I play her favorite song for the drive.  I turned it up and three of us sang out loud like nobody was watching.

This week I finally accomplished the task of sorting through the girls' closets.  There is a clothing sale at one of the schools coming up which was just the motivation I needed the get the job done.  I sorted through Callie's wardrobe packing away the massive amount of clothes that she has outgrown...neatly folding and stacking them into boxes until Lexi is just a bit bigger.  I washed the winter outerwear hoping that it can finally be laid to rest for another year.  I then searched through the mountain of boxes of Callie's hand-me-downs to see what we had for Lexi to wear this summer.  I tell you it was like Christmas.  Callie was pulling out her old clothes to show Lexi and was so proud to tell sister about how she wore these clothes when she was little like her. 

I lugged the pile of new-to-her treasures upstairs to Lexi's room to be put away... but first I had to make some room by clearing out all the things that Lexi had outgrown.  And then I had a moment...an emotional moment.  What do I do with the things Lexi is done with?  Is she the last baby in this house?  Why do I need to pack up these clothes ...I can just donate them to the clothing sale. 

Why is this easier said than done?  Logically it makes sense... these clothes will be going to a good cause...  there are other children that could use them...we don't need them anymore.  But I just couldn't do it. I couldn't bare to say goodbye to these things.  And I know that they are only clothes but I just wasn't ready to end this chapter of the baby book.   So I compromised.  I packed up my favorites.  The clothes that have memories for me.  The blue "smile" shirt that Callie wore on one of our airplane holidays and everyone called her a boy but it didn't matter because that shirt made her eyes sparkle, Lexi's polka-dotted  first birthday dress, the beautiful grey dress coat with the Russian hat from Nana and Papa that both girls wore.  I decided that I don't have to give these things away.  That with time, the answer to what I am to do with these treasures will become clearer.  I packaged them up and took them downstairs and I will hold on to them until the time is right to part with them.  Or at least until the Hoarders people arrive to do a show about me!