Hand-me-downs

While I'm far from a pack rat, I do tend to hang on to sentimental items from my past. Two of those items-- a homemade Cabbage Patch doll and an orange stuffed bear-- have followed me everywhere. They were two of my most prized possessions in childhood, they stayed in my room during high school, and they even made the "bring to college" cut.

Meet Melinda Sue:

Melinda holds a super special place in my heart because she was handmade by my great grandmother, whom we called BigMama. It was Christmas 1983, otherwise known as the Christmas of the Great Cabbage Patch Frenzy. Cabbage Patch dolls were the newest hot commodity on the market and customers were literally trampling each other in stores to get to the coveted dolls in the weeks leading up to Christmas. My mom managed to track down a doll for my older sister, but my little three-year-old self was out of luck. BigMama didn't want me to be disappointed on Christmas morning, so she sat down at her sewing machine and got to work. The result? Melinda Sue. Nearly 30 years later, it still brings tears to my eyes to look at the doll that was so clearly a labor of love. Every stitch, every strand of yellow yarn on her head, two meticulously painted blue eyes-- all so I wouldn't feel sad that I didn't have a Cabbage Patch doll on Christmas morning. I've hung on to Melinda Sue through the years, never quite knowing what I would do with her. Now, I know: she'll be Macey's doll one day.

And then there's George:

I was 9 years old, and proclaimed that the only thing I wanted for Christmas that year was "one of those silky stuffed animals!" Santa must've heard my request because an orange, silky bear donning pajamas was waiting for me on Christmas morning. I held him up excitedly for everyone to see and my grandfather, who was known affectionately as Papa, took him from my arms. "His name is George," he decided, and that was that. I slept with George every night from that day forward-- including all throughout high school, college, and (embarrassingly) even the first year or two of my marriage. While I did eventually retire George to the bedroom closet for several years, he has now found a new sleeping buddy.

When my mom found out that I was having a girl, she passed along a couple of outfits that used to belong to my sister and me. I have to say, seeing my daughter in an outfit that I once wore as an infant was a pretty surreal and special thing. I know my mom felt the same way. Here's Macey, modeling a vintage late '70s/early '80s outfit, which I actually happen to find pretty darn cute (both the outfit and the kid, if we're getting technical).

There are other hand-me-downs in our home: Camden often plays with his daddy's old Cub Scout Pinewood Derby cars, which were carefully crafted by an eight-year-old Matt . And there will be more, eventually: Macey will soon inherit a ridiculous number of Barbies that have been packed away in my parents' house for years, just waiting for a new owner who will love them as much as my sister and I did.

Getting to relive special memories from childhood through your own children is pretty priceless.