(Sorry for the long hiatus. I finally finished working on a big project and found myself with a little more free time to write, though I am working on a personal project now as well.)
So, Yuuki will be 11 months old on Monday. It’s the weirdest thing when you realize that a year has gone by, and that year has dragged on and on, but at the same time, it’s been the fastest year of your life.
Yesterday, I took the time to reorganize the nursery. One of Yuuki’s aunts took her for a short outing, and while I was cleaning, I came to a realization.
First, let me say that the day before yesterday, I did a lot of cleaning as well. I bagged a lot of Yuuki’s old clothes that I don’t want anymore, which will either be sold to Once Upon a Child or donated to Goodwill or Freecycle or something. I did this without any sentimentality, as these were already clothes that I had set aside as things that I never saw myself using with a second child, should I ever have a second child and another girl for that matter. It did absolutely nothing for me.
But yesterday, while Yuuki was having fun with her aunt, I was moving some things around. We keep everything stored in the nursery for convenience’s sake, and in particular, there is a box filled with formula for easy access. As Yuuki is almost one, I talked to my husband, and we decided that we were going to finish off the formula that’s left before starting Yuuki on whole milk.
I have been getting into the habit of putting everything that I don’t want Yuuki getting into in the crib so she can play on the floor without throwing bottles or spoons or dishes all over the place. I was moving everything back to their proper places when it hit me that I wouldn’t be using some of these items in just a few short weeks. In just a few short weeks, I won’t be using the box of formula, rice cereal, and the like that I keep stored on the floor by her books and toys. The bottles are going to be stored away here soon too as Yuuki moves on to sippy cups.
It just shocked me that such small objects that have been a very significant part of my life for the past year are going to be gone, packed away to be opened who knows how many years later. I had never thought of it before. Now, I have been gradually taking bottles away as it’s gotten closer to one year, but the thought that there would come a time where they wouldn’t be in sight is strange. I’ve spent I don’t know how many hours of my life making bottles, preparing them and cleaning them, and I won’t be making them anymore.
I imagine I’ll feel the same as she outgrows her toys, needs a new bed as opposed to her crib, even when she no longer needs to be changed and I can finally throw away the changing pad.
They are such little things within a bigger part of my life, but at the same time, they impact it in such a big way.
