Thinking back to my childhood, there are a handful of toys that I had always wanted and never received. I also recall a few toys that I did receive and no matter how badly I wanted to like them, I just couldn’t. Then there are the multitude that I can think of because of how much they meant to me. They were like an extra appendage, just a part of me and that stage of my life. Oh how I miss them!
I remember the hours and hours I spent playing jacks in elementary and middle school. It was the best activity to know how to play for those horrible rainy days when you had to suffer through the horror that was indoor recess. While you relished the break from work, having to use the indoor games and keep your voice down took pretty much all the fun out of the freedom the playground provided. It was destined to be subpar unless, you or one of your friends managed to snag the jacks before the mean girls did. Geesh, they didn’t even know how to play them right! As a result of a hard lesson learned, I carried those things around with me all over the place in case the opportunity for an impromptu game would show itself. It never did, mind you, but if it had happened, I would have been totally prepared for it. I remember being a sick kid who had to accompany my mom to work for the day. She worked as a nurse for the local college so I was relegated to the back of the office where there was a cot for the sick college kids. I was a bit young for college, even by Doogie Howser standards, but hanging out there was the best! One of the students stopped back to check on me and saw me sitting there playing jacks. Turns out she had spent a lot of time in her childhood enjoying a rousing game of jacks and she was more than willing to share with me all the different levels of fun that could be had. Under the bridge, over the bridge, and around the world were just a few of the new tricks she showed me that I immediately set about mastering.
Sometimes your favorite childhood toy isn’t as obvious as the incredible joy that is a cut throat game of jacks. I asked my husband if he had a favorite childhood toy and after a pause and a smile, he shared that it was a little plastic dog. I kinda stared at him for a bit waiting for the hook. Was it a robot? Was it a tamagotchi dog he spent hours and hours of his time feeding to peak health? Turns out, no. It really was just a plastic dog that he loved and doted on. He made it a dog house out of legos, and would sew his little friend clothes to keep its plastic body safe from the elements. The dog got to go swimming and as any responsible dog parent, he even carefully taught the dog to swim. He was very successful, his plastic dog never once came even close to drowning!
While I did not cherish a small plastic dog, I did have the most wonderful doll of all time that supported me through the hard times and celebrated the good ones with me. Kristen and I spoke about our respective dolls last year on the podcast. Kristen was proud to share her Booberry, a blue stuffed bear that my mom found and sewed for her. My mom also found and sewed for me, Sally. The most adorable redhead with the cutest patchwork apron. Much like my husband’s plastic dog, Sally accompanied me everywhere. Unlike my husband’s dog which he so carefully cared for, my relationship with Sally was a little more about what she could do for me. She could keep me company when I was bored and when I was hiding under my bed to escape any negative feelings (mine or anyone else’s in the house). She did not get a lego house or clothes and never went swimming, unless you count the washer as her pool in which case she was darn near the best swimmer that you had ever seen due to the quantity of practice she had.
There is nothing better than seeing those toys you loved so much as a kid, again. If you can even get your hands on them again, more’s the better. If it happens to be jack’s, you won’t regret it, they are still fun!