This was one of my favorite books when I was a little girl. I would read it to my own sweet dolly and then secretly prepare for her Christmas. I would wash and press her very best dress, brush and style her hair and hang her tiny stocking. I would then set my heart to making her gifts; knit hair ribbons, sew lace to tiny doll socks, and hand illustrate a little "book"... She was such a good dolly, and always so happy with her Christmas.
Sometimes I wish I could be that little girl again. The sweet, simple delights of being a child. I wish I had known then that I would long for those days. I wish I hadn't been in such a hurry to grow up. I hope that I have finally learned to live fully in today and savor each moment. And, I hope someday to have a sweet granddaughter to share my love of dolls and books and fancy dresses and handcrafts and hair ribbons.... someday!
What do you remember of childhood holidays?
Sometimes I wish I could be that little girl again. The sweet, simple delights of being a child. I wish I had known then that I would long for those days. I wish I hadn't been in such a hurry to grow up. I hope that I have finally learned to live fully in today and savor each moment. And, I hope someday to have a sweet granddaughter to share my love of dolls and books and fancy dresses and handcrafts and hair ribbons.... someday!
What do you remember of childhood holidays?
Eventually I'll blog this on my own, but each Christmas, we were always allowed to unload our stockings without Parental Supervision, but had to wait --why did Mom and Dad always sleep in so late on Christmas Morning? Maybe they were staying up to catch Santa in the act just like I did???--until our parents were awake to open the presents under the tree.
ReplyDeleteOne year, I couldn't wait. ADHD and candy canes fueled my curiosity. (This was before energy drinks, mind you.)
Anyway, I couldn't wait, so I opened one of my gifts from Santa. It was a Bugs Bunny electric toothbrush. (...And by "electric," I mean it PLUGGED INTO THE WALL.) I wasn't too keen on Santa criticizing my oral hygiene, but hey... it's Christmas.
My curiosity was now completely unfettered. I opened a second gift from Santa. It was a GI Joe doll. (I'm talking 12 inch GI Joe from the seventies, kung fu grip and a scar on his cheek... not those wussy 4-inch guys they had in the eighties. I tried to pull him from his box before I realized my parents would do me (and my personal liberties) some serious harm if they found out, so I quickly (read: sloppily) re-wrapped my gifts.
Eventually my Mom and Dad got up and we opened our gifts. I opened the Bugs Bunny toothbrush first, acting pleased and surprised. However, the BRUSH part of the toothbrush was missing. This was bad, because I'd seen it earlier. (The toothbrushing mechanism was shaped like a carrot, and it would vibrate with a brush attached to the carrot. The attachment was gone.)
My parents seemed distressed. How could Santa have brought PJ a defective gift?
Next I opened the GI Joe. (I wanted to open those two items first because I didn't want my parents to scrutinize the shoddy wrapping job that "Santa's Little Helper" had done.)
Guess what? The brush was in the box with GI Joe, held firmly in his "kung fu grip."
Now my parents were flustered.
Quick thinker that I am, I said "Well, Santa must have known both gifts were coming to the same house, so they just put the brush in with GI Joe."
They both seemed incredulous, but for some reason, they didn't argue with my unassailable logic. I guess, maybe they saw Santa, and knew I had to be telling the truth.