Believable Fiction Workshop Exercises

Gifts of Childhood Remembered

Christmas the year I was five is one I remember.  I remember waking up before my parents,  running to the living room to see what Santa Clause had left me.  The two things I wanted most were there: the rocking horse and the life sized dancing doll I could strap to my feet.

The rocking horse wore out fast, because always being a big kid; I guess I broke the metal springs. It seemed like the horse did not last long.  The dancing doll did.

She looked like she had Raggedy Ann hair, and she wore the clothes to match. Mommy and Daddy slipped the elastic over my five-year-old feet, and I danced with my doll all Christmas day. I danced with her when we moved to Corpus Christi, when I got older.

I don’t know what happened to my dancing partner doll, but I miss playing with her sometimes. I miss the love that lived in my bedroom when I was a child growing up. I grew so tall, but that doll was always the perfect partner, anytime I wanted a sister with which to dance.

The toys of youth become memories, but the memories we make with the toys stay with us forever. I love you Mom and Daddy.