Saturday Morning

It's 10º F outside (-12º C) and Mom has gone to Rachel's for the weekend. I'd thought to go out shopping early again today, but the cold, snow, and silence urged me to stay home instead. Only Hannah and I are at home. I won't need to pick up any toys, prepare any lunches, or answer any questions. It's a good day to replenish my energy and recharge my introvert side. It might even be a good day to clean the bathrooms. (Imagine that!)

Christmas is headed our direction with all the force of a speeding locomotive. I hope I'm ready when it pulls into the station. Remember that little girl I told you about? The one who just wanted to soak in the Christmas season? Well, here she is. It must have been a little past Christmas as the toys appear to have been unwrapped...


Looks like I got a Heidi doll and she's wearing a winter coat. I often wonder what happened to some of those old toys we used to have. Heidi probably went into the garbage after her arm fell off. Remember how you could press her belly button and she would wave? Mom must have tossed her out when I wasn't paying attention. I can't blame her, that's what Mom's do sometimes.

The Playskool Peggy Board probably belonged to my brother Tim, but I do remember hauling it out of the closet a time or two myself. It was kind of fun to set up a town and drive a wooden car or truck along the painted road. Back when my own kids were small I dreamed of making one myself, but it never happened. Still, it was fun to imagine doing it and they never knew so they weren't disappointed. (Maybe I can get "The Grandfather" to make one for the grandkids instead.)

The toys I find in toy stores today just don't measure up to what we once found under the Christmas tree. What do you remember under yours when you were a kid? Liddle Kiddles, anyone?