July 26, 2004

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  I have two shelves above my computer desk. This is the top one. That’s the doll furniture my mom gave me for Christmas when I was about six or seven years old. When I have done my annual cleaning the past couple of years, I have been trying to get rid of things that are merely being stored, not used. Last year, I came across this doll furniture. There used to be a bed to go with it, but it had a cardboard sleeping surface which did not survive. I still have the frame and keep telling myself that someday I will repair it, but I probably never will. Anyway, the rest of the furniture is still usable, so I was faced with the question of either finding a use for it or getting rid of it.

  I am a chronic saver. I come by it honestly. My mom was worse than I am. When she died in 1985, I found utility bills dating back to the 1930′s from houses she no longer owned, all neatly filed in case she ever needed them. It’s no wonder, then, that my house is clogged with the treasures of my life. It’s no good having them packed in boxes, though, gathering dust and maybe mildew in the far reaches of the basement store rooms. The furniture was brought out, dusted off and treated with lemon oil, and pronounced presentable. All that remained was finding a place for it, because, of course, I could not part with it.

  This furniture was one of the biggest Christmas presents I ever got. My mom did not have the money to be buying expensive gifts, but somehow she managed to buy this. I often wonder what she had to give up to do that. I am sure that putting doll furniture under the tree for me cost more than just money. I treasured it, though. My friends and I had hours of fun playing with it. I had an eight inch tall Madam Alexander Doll that my mom’s friend Lucille sent me from New York, and this furniture was the perfect size for her. I also had a Ginny Doll, and so did my friend Toni, so we were all set for hours of dolly housekeeping. When we were finished, the furniture was lovingly packed away in the bottom drawer of my mom’s big chest of drawers. I always knew that I had to take very good care of it.

  Years later, the furniture would emerge again, this time on shelves that my husband put up in my daughter Betsy’s closet to serve as a Barbie house. She and her friends spent a lot of time playing there before the furniture finally made its way to the basement. Eventually, Betsy got married and her room became the computer room. It seems very appropriate that the furniture is back on a shelf in that room.

  The clothes hanging on the clothes rack are from the dolls that I played with in the 50′s. I carefully washed and ironed them and hung them on tiny wire hangers purchased on eBay. I can remember digging dandelions in neighbors’ yards to get the money to buy those clothes. The dolls are new. They are the Madam Alexander Little Women. Little Women was my favorite book when I was growing up. I read it many times. In fact, I wore out my copy. I like the fact that I can combine these two memories. I look up frequently and enjoy them while I sit at the computer.

  My original Madam Alexander doll was literally loved to death. Her head does not stay on anymore. I still have her, though, and I intend to get her restored. I wonder where I will put her? There can’t be five Little Women!

  • 4:28 am
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