WARNING: PARTIAL NUDITY
My mom sent me the following e-mail yesterday:
Lauren,
Dad and I were up at 4:30 this morning. Now it is 6:18 and I am ready for bed even though I took a nap!
While I was trying to sleep, something ran through my mind, and for the life of me, I cannot remember…. What toys did you play with when you were little? Like two or three or even four years old. All I can remember is your Holly Hobbie doll. And Cinders. And books.
Can you help me out?
Love,
Mom
Yikes. That is a tough one. I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday, let alone four decades ago. I really don’t have many memories of playing with stuff that came before kindgergarten. When I started kindergarten my mom babysat a Vietnamese girl. We would play and watch t.v. in the morning and went to kindergarten in the afternoon, but I kind of only remember that as a Fact Of Childhood. I only have a vague impression of being in the living room with something on t.v. – Captain Kangaroo?
As far as toys that I do remember from childhood, there was a laundry basket of stuffed animals. I only remember these because of the nights I would lay awake worrying ‘If the house catches on fire, which ones will I be able to save?” It’s not that they were favorite toys, it’s that they were alive and would never forgive me if I left them there. Good times.
There was a pretty intense Holly Hobbie/Laura Ingalls Wilder phase – I had the doll, the wallpaper, the toy sewing machine and a plethora of lanterns and bonnets. I think I was older, though.
I had some doll bunk beds that were big enough to set up doll furniture in as a two-story home, and a little cubby on my side of our real bunk beds (that should be its own post) that I would set up with furniture. Hmmmm… I didn’t really play with the stuff, just do the setting up.
I know that the siblings had cool stuff to play with, I just can’t remember what.
Included (above) is a picture of stuff I have kept from childhood. Maybe it will spark some ideas and I’ll post later! I am also including a picture of naked Holly Hobbie. It used to disturb me to no end that she only had hair in the front of her head. Who does that? I also found several place where young me tried to stitch her armpits and lower back rips. Sorry, Holly. Plastic surgeons were expensive in the 70’s.
Lloyd, how is Hawaii?