Got Quads?

There are moms out there who are about to pity me, maybe even look down on me. I don’t save every single thing my daughters make. I hear the gasps of shock already. I save some of their artwork from school, but certainly not everything.

When my daughters come home from school I go through their backpacks and get everything out. Some days there are “scribble pictures,” other days there are fun art projects. The scribble pictures don’t get saved. The art projects go on the refrigerator. Then when a new project comes home the old one usually gets tossed. Shocking, I know. I just don’t see my daughters pulling out their art projects in 20 years and being grateful that I saved them.

Before you start trying to figure out where I live so you can come flog me, I should make some clarifications. I do save some things. At Christmas my daughters brought home some very cute art projects involving candy canes and peppermints. Those things are now delicately packed in our boxes of Christmas ornaments to be used next year. At Thanksgiving they made the obligatory turkey out of their handprint and I sent those to their great-grandfather, who put them up in his room at his assisted-living facility. See, I’m not a monster!

I also have mementos of their time in the NICU that I think they’ll want to see when they get older: the uber-tiny blood pressure cuffs, the preemie diapers that are essentially a maxi-pad with wings, the adorable dresses they wore to come home from the hospital. I want them to get a good understanding of just how fragile and tiny they were at birth, and how much progress they’ve made.

I know there are mothers out there who save everything their child ever looks at. They have tubs and tubs full of mementos before their child turns two. I think that’s great, I just don’t think that’s for us. What do you save?

Trackback URI | Comments RSS