So I was a huge Strawberry Shortcake fan in the 80’s. I have the original Strawberry Shortcake before they made the pets to go with them, much to my chagrin as a child. I always wanted her cat “Custard”, but Mom refused to by the same doll again just to get the “pet” to go with it. I have saved all my dolls and accessories over these 30+ years! I had always dreamed of one day letting my own little girl play with them…then we had Noah. Sigh. But 6 years later we had Eden and two years after her we got Yaya! So I had Eric crawl around the attic and find my treasure box of Strawberry Shortcake dolls this past June.
When Eden saw all of them her eyes lit up and danced with delight. She was just as entranced by the dolls as I had been, only I was a tween when I started collecting them. It was such a joy to share this part of my history with Eden, but I found myself very protective of these dainty dolls. So when one snapped completely in half I think a small part of my heart cracked. I was the one holding the doll at the time and my sweet husband saw the look of horror cross my face. He jumped up immediately and assured me he could fix it. I was doubtful. But in Eric fashion…he fixed the doll. As I sat there watching Eden play I could hear Eric tell Eden several times to be careful with Mommy’s special dolls. Sweet man trying to protect BOTH his girls. I finally snapped out of my trance and said, “Eden, you just play and enjoy them. If they break we will fix them if we can.” They are, after all, over 30 years old and the plastic has had to endure harsh winters and summers in the attic, the freeze and heat has taken it’s toll on the dolls. But I don’t want Eden to have to miss out on the fun by having to be “careful” when she plays with them. My forever goal was to see my own daughter one day play with them…not treat them like museum pieces. They are just plastic and cloth things, I still hold the memories regardless if the dolls are intact or not. And the new memories I am watching being made are more precious to me than the toys anyway. So neat to see a dream come true. I sometimes miss the little blessings God has for me in my everyday life…but I didn’t miss this one.
(P.S. I am working on getting Eden to put clothes on, I promise!)
Please can I come over and play?
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