The Attic

As all the kids returned to school last week, I made my way down the to-do list, which included cleaning through the children's clothes in the attic.  What a task, considering we have every size up to 13, in both genders. Yikes!!  All was going well, as most sizes were contained to one Rubbermaid container, until I reached girls, size 12/13.  I soon found myself surrounded by three containers full! Completely baffled, I started rummaging through all of Anna's middle school clothes.  It was a perfect blend of Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, and Gymboree. Yes, Gymboree.  Then it all came back to me. Those initial middle school years, when they are still our little girls, but they are trying, yearning, seething  to catapult out of that nest. When we are trying so hard as parents to keep them sheltered and innocent,and their naïve teenage minds think they can embrace all that the real world brings them, not knowing what that real world is actually like. Hence I remember being so thrilled in the fact that we could still get size 12 in Gymboree! My excitement was never matched by my daughter's reactions.  So there was a lot of compromising in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. She never wore the Gymboree (though I obviously did not return anything, so I was holding onto hope) and I eventually let her wear Jeans and a couple of T-shirts from The "hip" stores.  Now in high school, I secretly smile every time I see my daughter going to my closet to borrow something. :-) And although I get after her for not always returning things, I am overjoyed in the fact that she has found on her own a conservative way of dressing and looking beautiful, and treasured. When she returned home from school on that attic clean out day, I looked at her in the eyes and apologized for trying to dress her in Gymboree at the ages of 12 and 13. She just threw a big smile back at me.   I think that she understood that I had good intentions.