Purging clothes. I didn't plan to say goodbye to this so soon...

With school on break over Christmas and the start of a new year, it seemed natural to start to sort, organize, and purge our house a bit. I asked my daughter if she would like to sort some of her old clothes to give away to one of her younger cousins and one of her younger friends. She obliged. So, we started to sort through the totes of clothes I had saved.

I watched as my child sorted an entire tote of clothes, separating them ALL into 2 different give away piles. She didn't even bat an eyelash. Then, we moved to the dress up clothes. She found costumes she decided no longer fit or were close to not fitting and put them into the give away piles.

She didn't even stop to tell the outfits goodbye (we typically say goodbye to our stuff and thank them for their time with us, as is recommended with the KonMari method). But she just tossed them into their piles and was done with them. Just like that. It was too easy. 

I have stared at these piles a ton. I keep opening the containers I sorted these clothes in to and resist the urge to pull them out. And then I did pull them out. I took a picture and then promptly returned them.

You see, so many of these outfits, especially these two, represent a bulk of my memories with my 2 to 5 year old daughter. Both of these outfits are actually closer to rags than they appear as they were worn CONSTANTLY. My daughter loved both of these outfits so much she has slept in them (the few times we let her), worn them outside, worn them all day, worn them to parties, twirled in them while watching their corresponding shows they match, had tea parties in them, had dance parties in them, and even attended a princess party in one. Am I ready to see this season come to an end?

No, absolutely not. Yet, the door slammed close on me in a minute.

But, really, the season ended when my daughter started school. The week before that we were playing in the dress up box and as soon as school started our life began a new season. One that was busier with less time at home. Less time for imagination within the four walls we reside. I suppose it isn't all bad. We love school, her teachers, and her new friends. We love learning and seeing how much our child has grown. 

But, I will always lovingly remember the time we spent with these 2 outfits. So much time just being together.

I have since thanked the clothes and they are on their way to their new house awaiting a new girl to play with them. I hope they are loved as much as they were here during the season we needed them.

I imagine this will not be the only season in life that I struggle to enter while my children jump right in, embracing their newness. Bare with me, children and husband, I need the extra time to let things go.