During our Easter decluttering spree, we found the old growth charts that hung in our daughters’ rooms when they were small. The girls might be all grown up, but those charts brought back fond memories of their childhood! It’s time for another Clutter Tale.

About Clutter Tales

Clutter Tales is a series where we tell the stories of our lives through our clutter. During my decluttering journey, I found a lot of things that took me back to a different place and time. Instead of casually discarding them, I decided to honour them by telling their story. I’ve written Clutter Tales about a high school shorthand textbook, an old airline ticket, a travel diary from my trip to France at age 18, notes from a visit to a fortune teller, and more!

Along with my own reflections, this series has featured posts by some of my favourite bloggers. If you’d like to write a guest post for Clutter Tales, please get in touch. I’d love to give you the opportunity to properly thank your clutter by sharing its story too!

Now, on to today’s Clutter Tale…

They’re all grown up – Where did the years go?

When our girls were born, we heard the usual cliché, “Enjoy them while they’re small. They grow up fast.” I was reminded just how much they have grown, and how quickly, when we discovered these Winnie the Pooh growth charts during our Easter decluttering blitz.

Just for fun, before discarding the growth charts, I decided to compare the girls’ heights at different ages as they were growing up.

Despite being born a month early, Laura started the race with a slight edge at 53 cm (21”) compared to Colleen’s 50 cm (20”). It’s hard to believe they were ever so small.

Within a year, Colleen had made up the difference. Both girls measured 76 cm (30”) as they blew out the candles on their first birthday cakes.

By age 2, Laura had again pulled ahead slightly, measuring up to 89 cm (35”) compared to Colleen’s 86 cm (34”).

By this age, the girls would be so excited every birthday and half-birthday to get measured so we could mark a new entry on their growth charts.

Their 3^rd birthdays saw the girls in a dead heat at 99 cm (39”). Laura again had the slightest edge by age 4, measuring 107 cm, a mere 1 cm taller than Colleen.

Interestingly, the girls were identical in height on their 5^th, 6^th and 7^th birthdays, at 114 cm, 122 cm, and 128 cm. After that, Laura pulled ahead again, measuring 135 cm on her 8^th birthday, compared to Colleen’s 132 cm.

Laura retained her edge at age 9, when she reached 140 cm (4’5”) and Colleen was 137 cm (4’4”) tall. At that point they had outgrown the charts, so we stopped measuring.

The years did fly by

I’m not sure how tall the girls are now they’re adults, but I do know they’re both taller than me. At 170 cm (5’7”), I’ve been the shortest person in our family for a few years now. I think Laura might still have a slight edge over Colleen these days, but I’ll have to fact check that when they’re both home at the end of July.

Those people who told me the years would fly by were right. Now the girls are all grown up. Colleen lives on Prince Edward Island, and in a few weeks Laura will be living on the other side of the world in Australia.

The growth charts are now gone, but the memories remain.

Part of me would love to go back those days when we’d excitedly measure the girls and mark a new record on the growth charts. Those little moments were precious.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Clutter Tales. If you’d like to write a guest post for Clutter Tales, please get in touch. I’d love to give you the opportunity to properly thank your clutter by sharing its story too!

How did you keep track of your kids’ growth as they were growing up? Tell me your stories below.