Catching up on a couple of things

First I need to mention that one year ago today was the day she broke her arm. DD2, so sad. This picture is from the morning after our evening at the ER, and she didn't get her pink cast until later that week. Her last soccer game was today and there were no broken bones or major injuries of any kind. Aside from a couple of skinned knees she incurred on the driveway yesterday she is injury free. Hopefully we'll stay cast free for a good, LOOOOONNNNGGG time!

We finally had our Garage Sale yesterday. (Thanks to Mrs. Kravitz and Mrs. F for making it such a fun day!) The sale was such a success that we only needed to spend one day sitting in the garage while hordes of people descended on our neighborhood in search of "another man's treasure." All of our Little People are gone, the slide, kitchen, playhouse, sandbox... all a distant memory of toddlerhood. The only one that choked me up was when someone bought the mobile that I had used over the girls cribs when they were brand new. I actually was going to keep that for a while (or you know, forever... whichever came first) but it was too strangely shaped to store efficiently. My husband is NOT a hoarder, so - aside from my familial tendencies to save all such "precious memorabilia" as childhood toys and school projects - I am slowly learning to purge. Take a picture, and let it go. Do I really want a diorama depicting the natural habitat of the two toed sloth around for the long haul? No. Will I be able to be this brutal going forward? I dearly hope so, as I don't want to stick my children with this overly emotional baggage burden I carry with me. Bye Bye Sweet Streets doll houses. Farewell Madeline and friends. Au Revior blocks, kid videos, books, and previous Christmas presents we just couldn't live without.

I won't sell it all away. DD1's hippo and unicorn - that she has slept with since babyhood, DD2's blue doggy, some of the Barbie toys... there are a couple of things I will save for them. And the small plastic princesses. Must save the small plastic princesses! Those define a period of my children's childhood. For a few years we were all about princesses, and those will take up less space to store than the trunk of dress up clothes that will most likely be sold the next time we get the urge to garage sale.

On this Mother's Day weekend I was reminded, through something as simple as a garage sale, of growing up, letting go, looking back, loving where we have been, awaiting where we will go.... moving forward while desperately wanting once in a while to press the pause button and halt them getting older so quickly!

Oh - and speaking of getting older? Happy Birthday, Marcie!!!!!!