I am a sentimental fool. I keep things I know I should give away simply because of the memories. I’ll give you an example.

This is my oldest child’s sweater. It’s been in my closet since 1982, the year he out grew it. Maybe someday I’ll have a grandson who can wear it but until then, it’s in my closet and every time I look at it I remember what it was like to be a first time mom and what a sweet feeling it was to have a baby in my arms.

Then there’s my daughter’s blue tutu from her dance recital when she was five years old. She was the tiniest ballerina in her dance class and it was one of the last events my mom was able to attend before she died. I still have the dance program too.

Next is son number two’s little velcro tennis shoes and his ninja tutle doll. I kept the tennis shoes because he literally wore holes through the bottoms of them and when I tried to get him new ones he threw a fit. Those were his favorites. The ninja turtle doll represents one of his phases where he and his cousin would put underwear on their heads (the leg holes were for the eyes) grab a toy sword and become ninja warriors. They would run through the house and yard screaming and doing leg kicks that look like they were caused by muscle spasms.

By the time I got to the twins (babies number 4 and 5) I didn’t have as much time to be sentimental. That’s an understatement. I was in motherhood overdrive. They were born in 1991 and their childhood went so fast I don’t even remember parts of it.

Grant, Andrew (friend) and Russell

This year my babies will be seniors in high school. Now considering how sentimental I am I shouldn’t have been surprised when I took my granddaughter to see Toy Story 3 and found myself trying to hide my tears behind my 3 D glasses. If you haven’t seen the movie I won’t spoil it for you but if you are a sentimental fool like I am and you have a child who will be a senior in high school this year, you might want to take some tissue.  Andy, the little boy in all the Toy Story movies, has grown up and is going away to college and he’s trying to decide what to do with all the toys he’s outgrown.

Talk about feeling stupid! As we left the movie my granddaughter kept saying, “Nana, why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

How do you explain to a four year old that mothers want their children to grow up but when it happens and its time for them to put their childhood away, it’s hard to let go?

I guess you don’t explain. You let them grow up and discover for themselves.

How about it readers? Do you still have some of your children’s clothes or toys that you look at from time to time and remember? Share your memories with us!

Add this article to: