Monday, October 5, 2009

Why I can't work a garage sale





Sure, when it comes to garage sales,
I can price and organize items for several hours.
Once I get started, that is. ;)
I can endure the dust from bags that have been
sitting in the garage for months 2-3 years.
{Thank God for my neti pot.}
Even have the courage to battle spiders
that took residence in those same bags.
AND face the insanity.
{that comes from dealing with the above, sitting in the same room for countless hours while having two sets of lil' feet under your feet...
and 2 pets in your personal space.}

BUT there's one thing this sentimental girl cannot do.
{Well, besides dealing with the sleep deprivation that seems to come with the territory.}
Watch people walk away with some of our more memory-laced items...



Like...
The denim jacket Gracie wore when she was only 4 and 5 years old.
Worn with a plaid skirt, she let me curl her hair in sponge rollers.
She was the cutest thing you ever laid eyes on! {Spoken like a true mama.}
 Did our girls really go from a size 5 to a size 10?

The books that we spent countless hours reading together learning so many words.
{My lil' book worm takes a moment to look through them one last time.  Although, there were a few that I just couldn't part with.}

The shoes.  The shoes.  The shoes.
The more I pulled out of the bag, the smaller the shoes got.
I had to fight back the tears.
Was it really possible that our girls grew this much within the past 3 years?
We've taken a lot of steps and seen a lot of sights in those shoes, girls!

The easel chalkboard.
How many times did I pass by this to see a new masterpiece... just for Mommy or Daddy?  This picture is the last that Gracie made before we sold it.  The girls wanted to.

Sometimes, they're ready to move to the next phase before my heart is ready.


The ladybug mirror that we decorated A-Nator's first room makeover with.
She picked out the girlie bug bedding and accessory set at Target when she was only a few years old.  Now, her room is purple and fashioned with planets.

The only baby stroller A-Nator played with.
I think to myself... she never really was one to play with baby-dolls anyway.
But somehow, that doesn't seem to help.

So here's how we do it.

I take care of most of the above mentioned chores and hubby works the sales.
This time, I stayed inside... and tried to recover {from sleep deprivation and allergies}on the sofa, not thinking about who might be walking away with Gracie's chalkboard masterpiece.
{This year, DK had 2 lil' 'helpers'.  Every time someone would walk up our driveway, Gracie would announce, "Daddy, we have a new customer!"}

DK kept reminding me, "They are buying the outfit, not the memories."

Memories... You just can't put a price on them.
And the best part is... There's always room for more!



8 comments:

  1. I feel the same way. I've had plenty of garage sales and there are some things that are so hard to part with, not just for me, but the girls too.

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  2. Oh dear, our children do grow up so fast!

    I didn't have as much of a hard time getting rid of little guy stuff. I was able to pass a lot of it along to my cousins for their little guys. That made it a bit easier.

    They are too cute!

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  3. This is going to be difficult for me too.... I don't want to even think of it.... tear....

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  4. as much as i LOVE garage sales...this part is hard. we do them every year though no matter what. they will probably get much harder for me once i know we are done having kids...for now a lot of the sentimental stuff gets saved...just in case...

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  5. Hey girl It's me!! Can you believe it? Going to try and leave you a comment to your sweet blog. You are so funny and yet I see such a tender heart. It kinda made me wish I was a young mother again....well sort of!! Ha. I can build some memories with my little grandson. Can you imagine me having a garage sale?? Luv ya sis and enjoyed reading every sweet story.

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  6. I completely agree...while I'm still relatively new to the baby stuff scene, I can't imagine giving up my babies' clothes.....even if people are paying me...
    Now MATERNITY clothes are a whole different animal...take them away ;)

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  7. I am with you, have to do it like a band aide, pack it up and dump it at goodwill all in one afternoon. Otherwise I cave and start having visions of quilts fashioned from the most sentimental pieces of clothing. Quilts that frankly will never ever become a reality :)

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  8. Oh, Girl! I totally agree! It is next to IMPOSSIBLE! They grow up too, fast!
    (I see you saw my blog post, thank you for the sweet comment!)

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