Farewell To The Maternity Clothes

Things that Went Right Today:

1) Have another new preschool student for next year. Almost full!
2) Got my MakesSenseMom facebook page up. Now I just need some "Likes" :-)
3) Fresh coat of paint in the office!

We've been cleaning out the storage room and unearthed an old box of maternity clothes. I thought I had gotten rid of all my baby things last year when the crib came down for the final time. But these were still lurking down there it seems. So today they will go on craigslist...off to bless some other lucky woman. Mixed emotions are running through me though as I prepare to pack up the last of the items from my pregnancy days. My "baby" is three and I am almost 43. My oldest son is 20 and will start a family of his own one day soon I'm sure. I spent almost 7 years of my life pregnant so I guess you could say I experienced that to the fullest! I know that it's time to move forward now. Grandchildren are close on the horizon for me I imagine, so I know my life will still be filled with lots of babies. I look at these clothes and remember the heartburn, the weight gain and the months with no sleep.  The heartbreak of miscarriages, the stretch marks and the sciatic nerve pain. I remember labor (with and without drugs), nursing issues and hormone swings. NO I will not miss that part. Time to let my body rest. But after so many babies it still seems surreal to me that I'll never feel new life moving inside of me again. That was amazing to me every time. That I'll never again experience the thrill of anticipation at the ultrasound waiting to find out if it's a boy or a girl. Or the fun of choosing names and imagining what the new little family member will be like. I am so thankful this day for the opportunity I have had to be a mother. The days that each of my 9 children were placed into my arms for the first time were some of the happiest days of my life. My fondest, most spiritual and awe inspiring memories. I love each one of them with all of my heart and am so grateful to have them in my life. I am also thankful for this new phase of life that is beginning for me. And that I can (usually) sleep through the night now! Farewell maternity clothes. We had a good run!