Au revoir, les enfants!

I had to do it. They were too torn and faded to gift to another little girl, and I didn't have a way of preserving them (and, even if I did, I wouldn't want to tote them around the world).   My mother found the labeled manila folders containing all the carefully cut out pieces of paper, and sent them to me in NOLA so I could give them a proper goodbye. I looked at each dress and each character, smiled and wore out Adam's ear explaining how well I'd loved each one, then threw them away.

I'm talking about my paper doll collection from my childhood.  I had Anne of Green Gables & Diana Barry, Baby Miss Piggy, Tropical Barbie, Skipper, "Bride & Groom," and others that I can't find online.

I also remember playing with The Civil War Family, Ballerinas, The Colonial Era Family, The Little Spanish/Chinese/Italian and other girls, Medieval Costumes, Southern Belles, and I think I even remember Victoria & Albert.   It was so delightful to look through my old collections the other day, and I ended up reminiscing a little bit about some of the other paper dolls and toys that marched through my childhood.

One of my favorite girly toys was my Flip 'n' Fold Fashions doll:

You lifted the plastic outline with her head and hands and feet, positioned the fabric for her top and bottom, and then when you lowered the outline - Presto! A new outfit for Blondie!

Polly Pocket was another favorite of mine, probably because she was itty-bitty-bitty, and fit in my pocket. I couldn't tell you precisely when my obsession with small things began, but a lot of my toys reflected this love.

I remember playing a lot with Legos, and Micro-Machines (note their miniature size) and my Doodle-Bear. I also had a year or so of Beanie Baby collecting. (Remember those?)

But without doubt, my favorite childhood toys were my My Little Pony dolls. I loudly and proudly expressed disdain for the My Little Pony TV show, and even sang the "my little pony, wrapped in bologna" refrain we kids came up with. However, every time I spent the night at my friend Lauren's house, my suitcase full of ponies accompanied me. Both of us had impressive collections, and we came up with names and family groups and stories to go with all of them. We didn't love them for the TV show, we loved them because they were horses. A quick google search unearthed some images of my MLP's: I have this one and this one and this one... and this one and this one and this one and this one and this one!

Most of my toys will likely end up in the trash or goodwill, with a nostalgic little sigh - my ponies, though, will be passed down to a daughter/niece and NOT thrown out. (Thank you, Grace, for making sure of this. ^_^)

To this day, an unexpected horse-sighting stops me in my tracks and is capable of absorbing all my attention until the graceful animal (or myself) is gone.  I am not sure why horses are so common as little-girl fantasies,  but they were definitely mine. And while it's true that my current dream is about purchasing property I can then rent out to multiple individuals at a time who will over time run the building down and ruin many many things.... I can see plenty of room in those daydreams for a stable and a strawberry roan, or perhaps a tan palomino with streaming white hair...

We'll see. :)

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