If I Don't Drink, Maybe I'll Shrink

It was a cold and snowy morning this past winter. I was busy in the kitchen making pancakes when I heard a strange squeal behind me. Startled, I jumped around to find my poor 6-year-old son tangled up in a sweatshirt--his head nowhere to be found! Panicking he cried, “Help me, Mommy . . . I’m stuck!!!”

Try as I may, I just could not get his head through the shirt. Finally, I helped him out of it, and told him had to find another shirt. This one was simply too small and didn’t fit anymore.

His big blue eyes glistened with tears, and he frowned. “But this is my most favorite shirt in the whole world. It has to still fit!”

Feeling sad for the little guy, I tried to cheer him up with the prospect of new clothes since he was having another growth spurt. Yet, this only made the situation worse. He wanted that shirt and that shirt alone.

I offered him some orange juice while we waited for the pancakes to finish browning, but he only stuck his bottom lip out, crossed his arms, and exclaimed, “I’m never drinking again! Maybe then I’ll get smaller and fit my shirt again!”

Luckily, his little strike didn’t last very long. In fact, as soon as the steaming pancakes were buttered and on his plate, he was asking for that juice. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad myself. All those cute outfits he and his sister have outgrown over the years. I can’t bring myself to even part with a single one. So many memories lay among them, but they can’t sit in the attic forever wasting away.

As a compromise, I have made a promise to my kids that they can set aside their most favorite outgrown clothes. And when we have enough we will take them to a family friend who makes quilts. She is going to take material from all the pieces of clothing and make quilts that they can keep on their beds and later pass down to their own children. Then their favorite clothes and memories can keep them warm and stay with them always.