Curly bows. Realizing that my girls will no longer wear curly bows in their hair to match each outfit they put on made me really stop and reflect on how fast time is going. It wasn't that long ago that our daily routine included matching the girls' outfits with a coordinating curly bow. As I took each bow off the bow holder, I could vividly remember the outfit that it initially came with. I could picture my girls wearing adorable little Gymboree outfits with their hair in pigtails, accented with a perfectly coordinated curly bow. (Because, of course, every outfit from Uma had to come with the matching accessories.) And those memories of cute little outfits, sweet little faces, and accompanying curly bows hit me hard.
I held onto the curly bows longer than I probably needed to. Why? Because each of those bows stored a memory for me. The school year ending brings with it the excitement of summer. The end of the baby gear allows me to look forward to the next chapter of adventures with my kids. But the curly bows? Those made me have to say good-bye to a physical reminder of my little girls who aren't so little anymore. Good-bye tutus. Good-bye princess dresses. Good-bye tea parties. Good-bye curly bows. My girls are growing up. I love watching the people they are growing up to be, but sometimes it's hard to say good-bye to the reminders of the little girls they were.
