She asked me about the dolls I had as a little girl. I told her that I had my dolls in a box and did she want to look at them. We went to my bedroom closet and opened the box. Whew!!! Did they stink!!!
My very first baby doll that is at least 60 plus years old was covered with a white chalky material. She looked like a ghost. Her legs and arms are made of a rubber product and both hands are gone. She has brown blotchy marks on her legs and her toes have nail polish on them. Conley stepped away in horror. I was surprised by the condition of the doll but I knew what happened.
ALERT Don't ever store dolls in basements or attics! It was a few years ago that I found my dolls along with precious memoirs in the basement. My dolls had mold on them. I decided to clean them with a mild bleach solution and stored them in this clean plastic box with their clothes, many crocheted for me by my mom who died in 1964.
Alas the weeks, months, years of closure in a plastic container did nothing to improve their sorry condition. So I tossed the clothes in the washer and sprayed the dolls with Febreeze. My baby doll needed more attention. I literally scraped the white substance off her head, eyes, ears, nose and mouth. When she sat up, she looked like she had cataracts. I had to wrap her in a towel so Conley wouldn't have to look at her deteriorating body. The more time I spent with her, the more I realized she would have to be thrown away. Should I keep her head? Maybe just cut off her legs and arms? Her fabric body with the little sound box that makes her cry when she lays down also has this awful odor. Across her chest is a piece of narrow adhesive tape that has my mother's hand writing and says "Francie" with a star. My sister has the same doll (in much superior condition, I might add) and mom wanted to help us tell them apart. Here is a picture of her after I cleaned her up a bit.
What to do with such a precious childhood treasure. No daughters to give her to and the granddaughters have their own loved dolls. She is in such a state of distress that I think she will just have to go. I'm sure there would be no discussion to an alternative if I left her in the box and years later when the house is cleaned out she would be tossed in a dumpster without a thought. I'm considering preserving her memory with a photo and her last set of clothes made by mom in a memory box.
I know I hold the past close and dear but I am surprised at the emotion of giving her up. Too bad I didn't have the same emotion about preserving her. Well, the Bible tells us,"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy (mold) and where thieves break in and steal." This is good advice. It isn't the doll really but what she represents, love of a parent for her child. That is God's message too, His love can not be compared to the shabby, broken material possessions we gather around us on earth. Jesus goes on to say, "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
If I keep these verses in mind, it will be easier to clear out my earthly "treasures."
Post note: My sister read this blog and offered to give my baby doll a new body. So she left her old body and is awaiting her new. Picture to follow. So here she is with her new body and clothes, now on display, not all boxed in.
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