Wishing you a lovely Christmas

Nana gave me a baby doll every year for Christmas when I was a child. I loved dolls, and always became very attached to them. So I think it was a little bittersweet… being excited at the prospect of a pretty new baby to play with, but feeling sad for the one that would lose my attention.

Of all the dolls she gave me, only one remains. This one wasn't underneath the Christmas tree. No, it was tucked away in a closet, and pulled out during a spring-cleaning episode. It was Nana's childhood doll, and I was in awe.

She was a beauty with eyes that could open and close, a cloth body, papier mache arms and legs, and a gorgeous face with amazing cracked lines showing her age. My grandmother couldn't believe I'd want such an old doll, and promised to buy me another new one. But I insisted on taking this baby home with me.

Nana told me she made a penny a day to milk the cow, and she saved those pennies until she had enough to order the doll from a mail order catalog. The doll is a family treasure, and so is the story.

Wishing you a lovely Christmas. Maybe you'll receive a gift that will last a lifetime. Hopefully you'll make memories that will become the greatest joy of all.

Sandy keeps an online journal at her website http://www.field-days.com. E-mail her at [email protected].