One year ago this month, shortly after coming to SC, I commented on secretlife's post 'Handle with care'. In that comment I mentioned a porcelain doll. I was somewhat off on the doll's age as it seems she is, as far as we can tell, about twenty-one years old instead of the fifteen I quoted. And she deserves a post of her own.
Initially, she came to us when we had been married four years, our sons were two and four. This is the story of Jess.
My wife and I were at an arts & crafts show before Christmas, the year we believe was 1987. As we walked up and down the aisles of the show, we stopped at the booth of a woman that made dolls. Of the many there, my wife shortly chose her favorite, one she sincerely liked. We continued on through the show and some time later, I made an excuse to leave for a moment.
I went back to the doll woman and told her I wanted this doll for my wife for Christmas but obviously couldn't take it with me. She gave me her card and said she would hold it until I could pick it up at her house. About a week later, I made an appointment. She lived in a beautiful home in the valley and showed me her workshop which was a large addition onto the house.
There, I bought Jess for three hundred dollars in 1987 money. A 'one of a kind' and one of the finest purchases I've ever made. She stands about two feet tall, dressed in a full length dark blue dress, flowered long sleeve blouse, ankle high black boots, waist length auburn hair, and dark blue eyes.
If she walked, she would strut. Her pose tells you she is hot stuff. Her eyes tell you she is good at anything and knows it.
My wife was totally surprised and beside herself when she opened her Christmas morning. She loves this doll and she has been in our living room ever since.
Not too long after that, I built an entertainment center. In the middle is a large screen tv and the sides from floor to ceiling are openings. The opening at the top left I built especially for Jess.
She has watched over us all this time. Watched the kids grow, watched our marriage flourish. And we have looked back at her every day. That main part of the house would seem bare without her.
She has come to almost be known as a symbol of our life together.
I wonder what she would say to me if she could talk.
Sometimes I stare at her and expect her lips to move.
A material thing, a porcelain doll, a member of the family.
I wonder how these things can even happen...
beyondtheveil posted on Feb 26, 2008
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Comments
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hottips4u said on Feb 26, 2008....
Its commonly referred to as sentimental value. It can not be accurately priced $$$ to the owners estimation of such items and we all are owners of such items, right on down to declared rights over a certain coffee cup. ; ) Treasures each, and almost privately to proud to be to private about, like family. Just an opinion. Mine.
jessi
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mobil said on Feb 26, 2008....
Great story Beyond you sentimental old guy you ! haha I suppose they happen because of the memories a present, a doll like Jess invoke deep within us.Just being there all those years, going thru the ups and downs, the good and the bad with you and your family as it grew. Even watching your wife admire that day she first saw it.Things become important, because of what they remind us of. It's our stuff ! -
uniquely-ironic said on Feb 26, 2008....
Jess sounds like a member of the family. There are certain "things" that become intrigal to our lives if they are with us often. I have deemed Bill's knights armour replica as "Wilhelm" who is a family member. We recently got ggrampa's fiddle which will become part of our family. So, yes, these things add richness to our lives because of sentimental value. -
secretlife said on Feb 26, 2008....
oh beyond i LOVED this post!I think if Jess could talk she'd tell you how lucky she's been to have been a part of your family. -
quietone said on Feb 26, 2008....
awe what a sweet story beyond. I loved it. I agree with secret, if Jess could talk she'd have some amazing stories to tell of a family full of love and how they kept her as part of the family all these years. -
skald said on Feb 26, 2008....
What Secret and Quite both said what I was going to say. So I just have to say this was a great post. -
moonriver said on Feb 27, 2008....
beautiful story, beyond.
i think i know exactly the feeling that you wrote about -- a porcelain doll becoming part of this living tissue that we call a family, a living home.
i remember a wood carving that i made myself also in 1987 -- a statue of an indigenous rice god used in the villages to protect field granaries -- that i sent as a gift to sophie, then living hundreds of kilometers away.
but, unlike your porcelain doll, my wood carving did not enjoy a place of its own, several times almost given up for lost among the bags and boxes of our peripatetic life, then found again, then stored somewhere again.
now i'm keeping it close to me, sitting there like a tiny book-end among my favorite books. like secret and quiet said, ah, the stories it will tell, if only it can talk...!
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dailyachesandpains said on Feb 27, 2008....
Awe....such a sweet post!Daily -
beyondtheveil said on Feb 28, 2008....
hottips- Yes, its sentimentality. But quite amazing a little material object can garner such emotion and importance.
mobil- Hey, grandpa, I've seen that sentimental guy in you too.
unique- I like "Wilhelm" for the knights armor, it fits somehow. I have more relics from my grandpa than anyone. No fiddles, but many items in a drawer and a safe.
secret- I'm so glad you liked it. I can only hope she would have picked us as we picked her. She has seen some dazzling performances from me, just don't know if she would have been impressed.
quiet- We will not only keep her forever, but hopefully for generations to come. I think that will happen.
skald- Thanks, I'm happy you liked it. Always good to see you here.
moon- So many of these items do get lost. I've thought many times of things I should have saved from my childhood, just one of the misses in my life. I wonder, if these things could talk, would people collect them?
daily- Thanks for stopping by. Happy you liked it. Thanks.