Cleaning out Drawers... Growing Up is Hard!

Today is that day, one of my least favorite days of the year... the dreaded cleaning out the drawers.  It is always on this day that I have to literally give myself a pep talk that I will not become overly aggravated at what stuffers my children are... stuffed under the dressers, in the corners of bins, in various purses, bags, wherever they can hide stuff to give the appearance of a clean room only to be forgotten for months on end, or until we do the seasonal drawer clean again.  It is always on this day that I realize why my children only appear to eat their underwear and socks.  They have stuffed them! It is also an anxious day for me, seeing that my children are growing up.
     For some reason, the drawer cleaning is always hard for me.  I see clothes we bought, memories that go with certain things, pictures I have taken... it makes me kind of sad really.  It is moments like this that I want to stop this process of growing up, want them to stay little for just a little while, want them to still like the shirt with the silly saying on the front or the cute animal.  This morning, Becca warned me ahead of time.  She said," Mom, I have some clothes I need to get rid of now that I am going into fifth grade.  You can't wear some of this stuff to Berry, it is just babyish."  My heart skipped a beat at that comment.  This is my baby, my youngest, the one I can count on to like the "little girl" clothes, the one who still proudly wears the "My Mom Makes the Best Cupcakes"shirt.  I was in for a rude awakening today, and I was not ready.  As we went through the drawers we started to fill the bags, I knew I was in trouble.  The cupcake shirt and the my mom is cool shirt both went in the "bag."  They were too small.  "What? Are you sure?" I ask.  Her sister calmly takes them from me and puts them in the bag, knowing I am dragging my feet.  "She really can't wear that stuff to Middle School anyway Mom," she tells me shaking her head.  "Okay, I can do this," I tell myself, "she is going to Middle School and needs to be "Cool."
      So through all of the drawers we go and I think we are almost there and I didn't shed a single tear, something to be proud of since deep down I am a huge baby when it comes to my kids.  I open the closet and we just have one set of sock drawers to go.  This should be easy right????  WRONG!  As I sit on the floor folding socks and collecting hairbands, across the room flies a shirt, a shirt that had been "stuffed."  "We can give this one to Ava Mom, she will like it?" Becca says questioningly.  I know this is going to be bad, I don't even have to open the shirt up to know which one it is, and we only bought it six months ago.  It still fits!  She wanted it at the time and I remember laughing and thinking it was silly but being kind of flattered that she would want it... Mom is my BFF.  Sigh!!!!  She wants to give this shirt, this perfectly fitting, perfectly good shirt to Ava.  I really tried to not cry, I really did, all the while knowing how silly I was, wanting her to still want to wear that shirt.  I took the shirt and folded it neatly.  It is not going to Ava.  It is going in the bin, after I look at it on my dresser for a few days, with the hundreds of other items my children have outgrown (or not outgrown) to have for "someday."   In the sweet words of my little girl, well kind of big girl now, "Its okay Mom, I don't have to wear a shirt to know you are my best friend, it's in my heart... I know that Growing Up is Hard for you."  It sure is hard!