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November 29, 2007

My most memorable Christmas

I was never a girly-girl. I was the last of five kids; three older brothers and an older sister. The majority of my family was males; so I took their side.

But one Christmas, I asked Santa for a doll. Not just any doll. I asked for a Drowsy Doll. She had the cutest expression and could ttalk! My favorite was "I want another drink of water!" So demanding. Just like a real kid.

That Christmas Eve, I must have awakened very early in the morning. Hey, for a kid on Christmas Eve, there is no time. I sneaked past my parents' bedroom. The lamp over their bed was lit and my Dad was sitting up reading. I froze in my tracks. I was afraid he'd hear me and send me back to bed. I figured I got "this far", why not keep going? And so I continued on into the livingroom.

The house we lived in was an old Victorian-style home. The windows in the livingroom were nearly 100 inches long. No exaggeration. At Christmas, my Mom would open the drapes for all to see our poor-thing silver tree sitting on top of an ottoman draped under a plastic tablecloth. How kitch! To me, it still was beautiful.

I made it into the livingroom undetected. Everything was SO bright even though it had to have been about 2 a.m., I'm assuming. It took a few seconds to realize where Santa left my stash. There she was. Drowsy in her box. The street lamp was reflecting off the plastic wrapping around the box. I fell to my knees in front of her. I rememeber not knowing what to do. I just stared at her sleepy eyes. When I came out of my shock, I picked up the box. Big mistake. I guess my Dad heard the rustle of the wrapping. From the entryway to the livingroom, he startled me with a "GET TO BED!" Needless to say, I left Drowsy until later that morning.

Years later, when I was in my early twenties, my first Boxer, Butkus, found Drowsy in our attic. He tore her apart. There was stuffing everywhere. It really wasn't a pretty sight. Tears welled in my eyes remembering that wonderful Christmas. But I loved Butkus and tried to let go what he did. Obviously, I still hold that grudge. Since Butkus is no longer with us, I forgave him.

When eBay became popular it dawned on me to search for Drowsy to see what I could find. I really never expected to see anything even remotely similar. I was surprised! There she was! And no, not the later version that came out briefly in the late '70s / early '80s. The early 1960's version! The auction battle was brief and $40+ later, I owned another Drowsy. She was a tiny bit dirty and her voice box doesn't work (I plan to have it fixed some day) but she's still huggable.

With today's technology, you may be able to get back that child-like Christmas spirit by searching for a long lost toy. Maybe one that Santa forgot to leave? Or one that was destroyed by a lovable pet? Or even one that was destroyed by you! You can either use a search engine like Google or go straight to the source on eBay.

Don't forget to share your story with us: What was your best Christmas present?

Posted by Donna McGarry  at 11:59 AM to Christmas 2007 | Permalink

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