Thursday, January 24, 2019

My Sister's Dolls

Do these Ginny dolls look familiar? If they do, you're probably a "Boomer" like me. My sisters and I loved collecting the dolls and their outfits back in the 1950's.  These two dolls belonged to my "little sister", Nancy. Unlike me, who lost all of my old dolls over the years, Nancy took care of hers and displayed them on a shelf in her craft room.


Here is a photo of my sisters and I on Christmas morning 1953. I'm in the middle and Nancy is on the right - only 15 months old then. As you can see, we got dolls that Christmas. I still remember the ones my sister, Andrea, and I got because (with just a little maternal assistance) they walked!


When Nancy passed away in 2010, after a long battle with ovarian cancer, I was devastated. Her dolls were the last thing I thought about. They ended up in an attic somewhere, I think. I didn't care. I didn't care about much then, actually, except that Nancy was gone. It still aches every day. She was only 58 and my best friend.


And then, a few months ago, Nancy's widower, Aaron, called me. He was moving and found the box in the attic that held Nancy's dolls. He asked me if I'd like to have them. Are you kidding? Of course, I wanted them. 


I wanted to touch them again. To hold them and smell them and try to get a whiff of Nancy, of childhood, of happy/sad sisters' memories.

So now the dolls are on the shelf in my craft room. 
I remember how much Nancy wanted a Betsy Wetsy.
Our mother was reluctant because of the "mess" the doll might make but Nancy was adament and, that Christmas she got this one.


Over the years, she rubbed most of the hair of the old girl!


And then came the piece de resistance . . . Barbie! I still remember every detail of the day I got my first Barbie. Mine is long gone now. But Nancy kept hers.  Here she is, strutting her stuff in the Marilyn Monroe outfit our Mom made for her.


With the original Barbie case and all!



I'm so lucky to have Nancy's dolls. They bring back painfully beautiful memories of childhood and sisterhood that were almost lost.  Like sitting on the porch of our cottage at Wells Beach playing with our dolls together as the surf crashed below us. Like learning to sew at our mother's knee by making clothes for Ginny and Barbie on her old Featherweight. Like fighting, as only sisters can, over whose doll was prettiest.


Do you have keepsakes from your childhood that, when you touch them, make you feel six or seven or eight or ten years old again? Can you close your eyes and it's almost as if you're back there - just one more time?

Where does the time go?


This post is linked to:
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Share Your Style Link Party #193 at 21 Rosemary Lane
Inspire Me Tuesday #486 at A Stroll Through Life
Blogging Gradmothers Link Party at Grammy's Grid
Amaze Me Monday #300 at Dwellings

5 comments:

  1. I love dolls and still have many Barbies and a Tiny Tears like the one pictured with the hair..rubbed. They never had much hair in those days little curly brillo pads..Enjoyed the post. Dolly

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    1. HI Dolly, I share your love of dolls and will be following your blog in the future. I also have an old Patsy doll with her case, bracelet and clothes. Love them. Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment! Cheryl

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  2. I know you miss your sister. It is so good to have a part of her through what she loved. Dolly

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    1. I miss her every day. She was my best friend. I am so happy to have her dolls!Thanks for this comment. Cheryl

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  3. Yes, I was the sister that saved her Barbie..Case and all. Still have that Bridal gown our mothet made for us also, tucked away in the closet. Never let my daughter play with mine. She had her own 12 million Barbies lol. But mine was special,along with Midge, and lets not forget little sister Skipper. Well I just wanted to say sorry for the loss of your sister 💔 as I almost lost mine this past fall due to Brest cancer. As of February 2019 She is doing well.Thank God and many prayers. We don't play Barbie anymore but we do still talk about how we pierced her ears with little pearl straight pins on our porch in the summer of 1964.

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