Childhood Memories

10/2/10 What I remember most from childhood gives me a clue to what was important to me as a child. Then my remembrances give me insight into things that are probably going to be lasting memories for both my children and grandchildren.
I grew up playing with a Terri Lee doll whose clothes I bought hanging from a peg board type display at the top of the stairs in the 2nd floor toy department at Cayce-Yost. I didn’t have a lot of doll clothes, possibly due to economic constraints, and I remember the big deal of going shopping with Mother to buy a doll outfit or accessories. She probably guided my selections but I was the one to make the final choice for Terri Lee’s wardrobe. (BTW, Terri Lee wasn’t a personal name but the name given to all dolls in that line---long before Barbie was ever heard of) Outfits I chose were much like the ones I was wearing at that time---no elegant evening gowns or grown-up clothes would have even been offered.

I played with Terri Lee for years, hiding behind the big upright piano when most of my friends had “given up” playing with dolls. Yet, as special as the doll was to me, what was even more special was my mother collecting wooden crates from Dixon’s grocery and using the wood to make Terri Lee doll furniture and painting it pink, just for me.

Mother also subscribed to McCall’s magazine in the ‘50s and the biggest treat for me was the Betsy McCall paper doll page. Mother would cut them out for me with her special hair scissors and show me how to bend the tabs so they would stay on better. She also took the thin cardboard backing out of her hosiery packages and used it to cut out a Betsy-shaped figure. Gluing the paper Betsy on with her Sobo glue created a sturdier paper doll. Then we’d have a tea party with Betsy. My favorite cut-outs for her were the one from the weddings and the tea party. Maybe that’s where my love of a "cuppa" first started.

So what do these childhood memories say to me? It’s relational things that are important to kids. Not money, but time. It’s hearing them and guiding them and enjoying them. All that takes time.
To date, I only have grandsons so the doll memories are not shared (another grandbaby due in 8 weeks, so who knows) but the teatime is shared, along with the lesson that they, my grandsons, important. I love sharing part of who I am with them as they share what’s special to them with me. Who knows, maybe one day they will take their daughters (if girls are ever produced in our family) to tea at the Ritz and recount the days that they "took" tea with their "Shug."