Trip Down Memory Lane with Jen

I think her name is Jen or Jennifer. I think I've had her since I was about 5. She's the perfect friend for a little girl since she's practically as big as you! Jen wears a 2T and is about 2.5 feet tall. Over the years, I've dressed her in my hand-me-downs. The dress she is wearing used to belong to me. I think it may have been a gift from my grandmother. QE thinks Jen is spooky because she's so big.

Dad is cleaning and renovating the house and asked if I wanted anything from my old room. I had cleaned up most of my belongings except for my dolls and a few keepsake memories. Jen, three Cabbage Patch Kids, and two other dolls came home with me. These friends were my primary dolls growing up I think. I had stuffed animals and a Barbie, but these were my only dolls.


Going through my boxes, it was funny to see what was important to me decades ago. I kept a report card from 6th grade where my final grades were straight As. I kept most of my birthday cards, many of which had cats on them! I didn't even favor cats back then. Maybe these subtle cues nurtured my affinity for cats now. I also found various sizes of knitted rectangles (blankets for my dolls). All the early signs were there of who I would become. :)

Finally, I kept a bag (!) of giveaway buttons from a concert by a local radio station. I handed the bag to QE and watched for his reaction. Once he realized what he was holding, I got the mandatory eye-roll and groan. He might have even said something like "Ugh, my wife was a teenybopper." He, of course, already knew that, having been to two Goo Goo Dolls concerts with me. (It's weird screaming for a guy on stage with your husband next to you...) But the bag of buttons confirmed the extent of my crazy fan behavior. He already knew that I had ditched last period once to go meet this hottie, got his autograph, and took tons of pictures. I had 4th row seats for Marky Mark. Talk about good vibrations!