Toy Unwanted.

 Tomorrow is the sixth of January, many of the old timers used to call it little Christmas and didn't fully remove all the decorations until then. It is also Christmas eve for Orthodox Christians. I like to leave my decorations up until then because I enjoy them and because I'm lazy so I want to maximize my decorating efforts! While starting to put things away, I suddenly realized a funny Christmas story that has constantly been staring us in the face for years.

 There is a doll that stands in a corner of one of the bedrooms. It has been standing in a corner literally for about forty five to forty six years untouched, unwanted, unloved. Back in the day there were these dolls called Suzy Walker dolls, I'm not sure if they still make them but they were large and walked if you held their hand just right. My sister did not like dolls, she always pleaded with people not to get her dolls for Christmas. Instead she preferred boy's toys, she would ask..... ((gasp)) for toy guns, toy cowboys and Indians native American people, sports equipment etc, etc. She also had an artistic side and enjoyed paint sets or something to do with drawing but most definitely not uuugh... dolls.

 This of course lead to people trying to shove dolls and little dresses down her throat, mom gave up trying to do that almost from day one and warned others not to push it. One year my sister's godmother saw one of those Walker dolls, that actually looked a little like my sister at the time. Against my mother's warnings she went ahead and bought it as a Christmas gift. I will never forget the look on my sister's face as she pulled off the wrapping paper. I can only described it as the look just before a dog bites somebody. She then looked at my mother with complete disgust. Mom, quietly said "we will just set it up somewhere, don't break it". That doll's existence was in jeopardy but she did understand not to be disrespectful and so listened to my mother.

 It's funny how people will try to push the norms on children even if it makes them completely unhappy. They feel it's better to ruin Christmas or a birthday party, just to satisfy their ideology. Many times my aunt would ask, "does she play with the doll"? We would say no, and so she finally learned to buy the right gifts.

 That Christmas evening after we came home from my grandparents, my sister carried the doll upstairs and stood her in a corner, there to this day the doll has stood waiting for someone to come play with her... because that's what happens when you buy a hockey playing, fort building, horse back riding, future lesbian in the making... a doll.