I don't know why, but I am really attached to my old baby items more than most people seem to be. I've been given clothes by people who have said things like, "I loved mine in that, it was her first dress", or "they were his first shoes". How can people part with these things so easily? I genuinely wish I could. I have a bag of 'never getting rid of, never selling, never to be worn by anyone else' clothes from my son and my daughters first things. I have framed their first shoes, kept their hospital bands, hoarded much more besides than what is probably normal, but I just have such an attachment to it all. I'm kind of the same with pictures too, I have thousands but it's as if deleting anything deletes a bit of them and so I just have a swamped and overflowing hard drive. Easier to store at least than the sacks of clothes!
The writing of his post was triggered after we ventured to town and my baby girl chucked her hat out of the pram. I felt awful, my heart genuinely ached and I was so upset that the hat was gone. 'The hat' is not just a hat. It was the perfect hat that I had visualised in my head when she was born and that I knew would suit her. I searched eBay until it popped up. Green polkas dots, a bobble on top and little ear flaps. Perfect.
We resigned to the fact that the hat was gone, much like my sons first trilby ( a very sad loss in Primark). I was just moaning about the hat in the baby change room when two separate ladies said they had seen it upstairs by the lift. I excitedly made a run for it, only to find an empty floor, no hat stuck on a nearby post or out on the bench, it was gone. Someone had taken the hat! I can't explain how upset this made me, genuine sadness to think her first hat was gone, she has nearly outgrown it now but it did still just fit. I had wanted to keep it forever!
I eventually asked a security guard about any lost and founds in the center and described the hat. Seconds later my knight in shining armour, ('Dave' in his security suit) came wandering towards us in slow motion waving my green spotty special, grinning from ear to ear. I was so happy to be reunited again and have now stored the hat safely away. This sounds ridiculous I know!
It really made me realise just how sentimental (or just mental) I am with this stuff. Is anyone else the same? I've no idea why I find it so hard to part with things, but I will be keeping a beady eye on the hat next time we are out.
Thanks for reading,
Wafflemama
