Pumpkin
It’s laundry day in the Little Army House and I am still at a loss for interesting things to blog about. I suppose I could wax poetic about my laundry system, but then again, maybe not. I do have a few questions that were posed to me, either in comments or in emails. I think I’ll answer one of those today and spare you once again from my laundry. Next week: Lorri Makes a Grocery List.
My lone comment to my Babies! post was from my maternal Grandmother, or as we call her, Grandma Honey. She asks, "Where is Pumpkin?"
Pumpkin is our beloved family doll. As my mother is fond of saying, "She’s almost as old as Lorri!" My mother says this about just about everything. In this case, it’s true. Pumpkin first belonged to my aunt Mary. The story goes that when I was born, my then-5-year-old aunt got Pumpkin. Pumpkin can only be described as lovable. She’s about the size of a 6 month old baby and has been known to dress in the outgrown clothes of the family’s most recent baby. Let me state for the record that Pumpkin never belonged to me. At no time did I ever inflict damage to Pumpkin.
I clearly remember Pumpkin and all her clothes living in a little red suitcase. I assume she resided there for a number of years after Aunt Mary outgrew her, until my cousins – grandchildren 2 and 3, arrived. Pumpkin then lived with them until coming into the possession of my family.
When my oldest was a toddler, he had a love of all babies. I thought he might like a baby of us own, so I asked about Pumpkin and she was tracked down, a little worse for the wear. We let her come to live with us anyway and Boo was delighted to have his very own baby. Pumpkin’s neck no longer held enough stuffing to hold up her head and someone (please note, it wasn’t me!) had chewed on her fingers. I was also not the one who tried to pierce her ears. Turns out, Pumpkin is a Madame Alexander doll and I researched the Madame Alexander doll hospital in New York City, hoping to send her off for some cosmetic surgery. My timing being impecable, I was all ready to send her off in October of 2001, only to find that the doll hospital was closed until the next year. A result of September 11? I may never know. But we were finally able to send her off the next Spring.
Pumpkin returned with a newly plump body, a new crying mechanism (I never knew she cried when you tilted her!) and brand new hands.
Since then, Pumpkin has traveled the world with us and now lives happily with Pumpkin Girl (our oldest daughter) and her collection of well loved baby dolls.
Above: Pumpkin, Sunshine, Amy, Honey, Snowflake (on Honey’s lap), Star, Pumpkin Girl,Kitty (on PG’s lap). Doesn’t she come up with great names for her dolls?
I’ve got two more pictures of Pumpkin that I’m trying to track down. Watch this space, I’ll have them here later today.
