From Tracie: Making Grown Up Decisions

Monday, July 22, 2013

Making Grown Up Decisions

When you live in a small space, it is important to regularly go through things, and donate anything you don't need. This is a good practice when you live in a big space, too, but it is necessary in a small space. The hardest things for me to clean out are the bookshelves (book drawers, book chairs, book boxes, and book piles).

I let Katarina make decisions about her stuff - what to keep and what to donate.

When she went through her bookshelves with a donation box a few months ago, I watched her have a hard time making a decision about her fairy books.

They ended up back on her shelf. She was not going to part with them.

Over the next couple of days, she reread each one. It did not take very long; they are well below her reading level. I saw her look at them like old friends, admiring the pictures, and giggling in all the right places. I thought we might have to use some of our preciously small storage space to pack them away.

Fairy Books

Last week we had an organizing and cleaning day.

Katarina handed me a stack of fairy books for the donation pile.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes. I will always love fairies, but I need room for my other books," she answered. "If I donate them, a little girl who can't afford to buy them in a bookstore will get a chance to read them. I reread each one after we cleaned last time, and now I am ready to let them go."

looking at books in the library

In that moment, I saw her grow.

And I realized there were at least twenty books in a stack that I don't even love. Books that could be passed on to someone who will appreciate them more. I added them to the donation pile. Maybe I grew up a little bit, too.

(Confession: It was harder than I thought it would be to watch those fairy books leave. I am not entirely prepared for this growing up thing.)

GFunkified

26 comments:

  1. What a wise child you have grown there :)

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  2. Oh, this made me smile. She's growing up! Your girl has such a kind heart.

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  3. That was a very thoughtful and mature thing for her to do. I hope who ever finds these books enjoys them as much as your daughter did.

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  4. What a generous and wise child! I find that when we organize toys, some toys and books get a new life, and my kids realize others could be parted with. I need to sort through my books too! Great post.

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  5. Absolutely LOVE this post Tracie! Your sweet girl is so generous and kind, it melted my heart. :)-Ashley

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  6. I adore this post, what a kind heart she has!

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  7. Katarina sounds wise and precocious!!!

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  8. That is huge to teach your children - makes them grow - helps them to learn and help others! sandie

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  9. Awww that is so great! What an amazing daughter you are raising!

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  10. It takes a lot to let go of things you love. I am so impressed that she selected so many books to leave home at the same time.

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  11. That is so sweet! She sounds like a great kid!!

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  12. For all the trials you are living through, you are raising one very special child there and she is learning some very special lessons. Big Hugs

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  13. Yeah, I totally teared up while reading that. What an amazing girl you are raising. My girl still has her fairy books, but I don't know for how much longer.

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  14. Oh how grown up she sounded........so wise for someone so young

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  15. I was just going to say, I bet it was harder for you to give up the fairy books, than you :)

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  16. This just warmed my heart. What an amazing girl you have. I have a hard time giving up my books too, so I know how hard that must have been. You should be very very proud.

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  17. How grown up! My oldest girl is very similar. We talked about just that when we were shopping for her next books at the used book store recently. But sometimes it's sad for me to see her growing up so quickly!

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  18. I hear you on the "not ready for growing up thing"!
    My daughter turned 16 today...

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  19. What a sweet grown up girl you have there. Psst: I'm not ready for this growing up thing either.

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  20. That's really sweet. You have a smart little girl.

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  21. Wow, I'm in awe of her. That is such a grown-up and sweet thing to do... :)

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  22. Oh, sigh. Watching them grow up is so, so hard. But she made such a thoughtful decision. (My girls got their first fairy books this past week. They're above their reading level, so we'll probably have them for quite a while.)

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  23. Oh crap. I totally just cried. As in actual tears. Partly because you are such an amazing mom raising an amazing young woman. And partly because I was totally that same girl giving up my books for someone else to love (so that I could make room for new books). When I was a kid a teacher told me "books are a poor man's vacation" and that thought sticks with me today. Books are like a vacation, each and every minute spent reading. And I love it.

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  24. Such a lovely post. Seeing our kids growing up is such a lovely and sometimes bittersweet thing; letting go (particularly of material things when you're a pack ray but of emotional "things" too) can really yank at those heart strings too. Thanks for reminding me of the vulnerability those moments bring. :)

    Stopping by from sharefest and I'm so glad I did.

    Heather @ ExaltedPeacock.com

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  25. I recently started getting rid of my daughter's baby toys and as I was going through them, I realized that each toy had some special story attached to it and I realized that,it wasn't so easy to get rid of the toys. My daughter told me that with her newer toys we can make bew memories. She seemed so grown up,in that moment. Visiting from#SITSsharefest

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  26. Awww this is seriously sweet--I will sob when Amber reaches this point too!

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