A Closet Clean Out And Senior Year
Isaac was home sick one day last week and I subtly persuaded him to clean out his closet. I couldn’t believe how much he outgrew just from one year. I think we cleared out at least 1/2 of the clothes. (Got a little head start on my Lenten purge!)
Before:
During:
After:
We also worked on something I am SO excited about. When Isaac was just in grade school I started saving a few special t-shirts here and there-from sports, races, schools, dances, special events. My friend Janemakes these awesome t-shirt quilts which are perfect for sentimental gifts-particularly graduation. I was going to make it a surprise and pick out the t-shirts on my own, and them realized I had NO idea which ones would have the most meaning. I ended up telling him about it, and he easily picked out the dozen that meant that most to him. When he had all 12 of them laid out on the bed, I teared up. This is becoming one of those teary years I think. I packed them up and shipped them off.
Jane will work her magic and I can’t wait to see the finished product.
Here is an example of one of her finished quilts.
I love Jane's quilts. What a lovely gift.
Glad I'm not the only mom who makes her kids clean their closets when home sick 😉 Love the t-shirt quilts. We plan to have one made for each of our girls someday, but with the 100s to chose from, it may take them awhile to narrow down their selections. We made our final college trip this past weekend. The decision has been made! Such mixed emotions…so exciting, yet so not ready for my "baby" to go. This year is flying by, and move in day will be here before we know it. I know exactly how you are feeling, however, this is my 2nd and last to go off to college so we will be empty nesters.
I have to confess, I am glad to see his closet was actually a teeny bit messy in the before:-)
I envision all your closets sparkly clean all the time, so it is reassuring to see your kids let their closets get messy sometimes too. 🙂 Although it is still a far cry from what i saw when I checked out my 13 yearold daughter's closet this weekend. She, too, spent some quality time cleaning out!
Oh Sarah, now you have me crying! I remember those feelings the past few years….it is another transition period. Very exciting but also sad. It's really wonderful to see, though, what the meaning of family and home is and becomes to Isaac – especially after he is away. It's a beautiful time of growth toward adulthood. I have loved watching my son grow – I don't think of him as "mine" anymore. He is "his own." He will be home on break and, of course, his little brother can't wait to see him. I imagine there will be some sad little brothers (maybe one sister???) when Isaac leaves! I am so excited to work on his quilt and thank you for sharing on your most amazing blog!
I can't imagine when my kids will start leaving the nest. It feels weird if one of them is gone for the day…I can't imagine ever getting used to that. Even the kids say how strange it feel when we are not all together!
i like that you let him pick the shirts for his quilt. awesome!
I love this. I'm not a scrapbooker or really much of a saver. We just don't have the room to do it. But I love this idea and with my oldest starting high school – it comes at a perfect time. Thanks for the great idea!!!!
I'm SO excited for your quilt. I think I have mentioned that a friend did this for me with my mother's t-shirts (and used two of her dresses for the in-between fabric) and I loved it so much, I had her do another for my husband with his college and grad school shirts. It is never out of our bedroom!
Thank you too for the 40 bags inspiration; we got a bit of a head start with the garage this weekend and will have five bins for recycling tomorrow! (Lots of paper stored in there–good to have it gone for things like bikes and scooters.) And that doesn't even count the trash. Happy Mardi Gras and enjoy those moments with your senior! Yikes!
love that tshirt quilt! what a wonderful idea…I think I'm going to start saving tshirts!
Oh! I need a Jane who can do this for me!
I'm tearing up just reading this, Sarah. Our oldest is a junior this year, and I'm having more and more of these days lately. And you say it doesn't end? Gah!
Just yesterday, my husband and I were talking about how the new baby will be born in 3 weeks and how he won't grow up with his oldest brother hanging around all the time. How will they bond? We saw this in both of our families, but never realized the heartache it must've caused our parents (we were the "older ones" who did the leaving).
Bless you and Isaac for facing this with such "closeness" and head-on! You give me strength!
Closets…that is just what I have been working on – even yesterday when my kids were off from school!
They weren't as thrilled. I am such a fun mom. 🙂
I've been saving a bunch of shirts too. That's a good idea to do it for graduation.
I love those quilts… Wish my mom would have thought of that for me before I threw all my tshirts away 🙂 there's something soothing about a clean closet… Just wonderful 🙂
Love that quilt. What a special gift. And what a transition you are going to have with him moving out Sarah! Your oldest is all grown up. It's such a happy/sad thing all at once! You should feel so good about the kind of boy you've raised. I have no doubt he will excel in school and in life.
I want one of those quilts a lot! they look like the loveliest thing for him to take away with him!- I'm the same year as your son, maybe a couple months older, I'll be turning 18 in about five weeks, what do you guys do over there for 18ths? because over here obviously we can drink so it's typically a big party, I'd be very intrigued 🙂 I feel like this is the year I have to grow up!
I can't wait until my son accumulates enough t-shirts to make a quilt, but seeing how he is only three I have a looong way to go:)
What a great idea for memorabilia – a quilt.
Its funny how in a full household one person can be missed so much. When my eldest son got married and left home, the house, and especially the dining table, felt so quiet like something was missing. The children still at home took ages getting use to the fact that he was not coming back, life as they knew it would never be the same. Mind you he only lives around the corner and they all loved his wife to bits. Enjoy what you have now, it goes toooo quickly – but I don't need to tell you that.
Sarah I would love to know how you handle your older kids working jobs in the summers. Do you require they have a job, or just encourage? Part time, full time? Do you let them take any reasonable job? Inquiring minds want to know!!
Love it! My best friend and i did the same thing-great minds thin alike.
xo, Lissy Parker
I've made several of those quilts for myself and for others, and they are lovely gifts!
I would suggest that if you can find another 4 shirts to add in another row, to do it. It makes it a bigger quilt, better for sleeping or napping under, and it can be used on any sized bed -even a dorm bed for the college days!
Both of my boys did the Senior Kairos retreat, although only for a weekend. Each retreat only had 15-20 boys at a time. What an amazing weekend they each had. When my younger son was asked to be a leader his senior year and attend a retreat his junior year, my older son was a senior. He insisted that his brother not be a leader and just go his senior year with his friends and experience the retreat. We were so glad he insisted on that for his brother. I was also in awe that each year, none of the boys knew what to expect because it was not talked about outside of the weekend. The parents always meet the buses when they return and not ONE boy on the retreat knew it was happening. The parents also each write a letter to their son and one of the letters is read aloud during the retreat by a teacher. Both of my letters were read and each of the boys had tears when they told me. I know that you feel as lucky and blessed that a Jesuit school was part of your son's education. Now that they are both in college I miss that school every day!!!
I will be dealing with this next year. Right now I'm thinking that the rest of our family has to move where he goes to school.
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