That Cabbage Patch Doll
I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was in the fourth grade and the HOT gift that Christmas was the Cabbage Patch Doll. If you remember, perfectly sane mothers were pushing and shoving eachother in toy stores everywhere to get one of those dolls. Like every girl in fourth grade, I wanted a Cabbage Patch too. I don’t remember if I was still getting “Santa” gifts at the time…my mother continued to give those until one day I came home from school and saw a gift that said From: Santa. I said “Mom, I know that is your handwriting”. The “Santa”gifts ended then. Anyway, I know that I asked for a Cabbage Patch Doll that year. Christmas morning came and there was no doll to be found. I remember every gift that I opened, I anticipated that the box might contain the coveted doll. It never did. I remember after all the gifts were open, actually going around the house searching to see if my parents had hid it somewhere. I didn’t find anything. I didn’t dare complain to my parents, as I got many great gifts and I didn’t want to seem unappreciative….but I was really disappointed that I didn’t get the doll. I remember going back to school after Christmas break and most of my friends had gotten the doll. They talked about what theirs was named and what it looked like. Oh, I was jealous!
In cleaning up my daughter’s room yesterday, I realized that she has not one – but four Cabbage Patch dolls. Two of them are doll size and the others are babies. I must say that none of them were bought by us, but were gifts from grandparents. I looked at the cute dolls and even smelled them. They smell good you know! I thought “this is ridiculous that my child has four of these dolls!” No, they are not the HOT item that they were back in the early 80’s and I am sure that they don’t cost as much as they did that Christmas, when I was in fourth grade…but why does she NEED four?
I then saw my parents decision to not get me a Cabbage Patch Doll that Christmas from a different perspective. It taught me that you don’t NEED the HOT item of the year to be happy. Oh yes, I was disappointed, but I was not unhappy. I also learned that trends will come and go, and if you live your life trying to follow them- you will constantly be trying to keep up. I learned that you don’t HAVE to have what everyone has, to have a lot.
At 33 years old, I am not a trend follower. In fact, I am a little of a trend rebel. If it is HOT at the time, I don’t want it – because everyone else does. I could not tell you what is trendy right now for women my age, because it really does not matter to me. So many other things do, things that are not THINGS.
I wonder if not getting that Cabbage Patch Doll that Christmas influenced how I am today. I think it did and I think my parents hoped it would at the time. Now, how do I teach my daughter the same lessons? One thing is for sure….no more Cabbage Patch Dolls!!
