Jocelyn Esther

Audrey received a Cabbage Patch Doll from her Grandma for Christmas. Jocelyn Esther is her name. She has terrible hair. It's all short and kind of looks like she has a perm and then she has three poker straight pony tails that stick straight out of the top of her head. Audrey seemed very uninterested but I'm sure she'll like her once she is bigger.

It's strange, the feelings that came over me when I opened the box and freed Jocelyn of her cardboard and twist tie prison. That familiar smell. You see a Cabbage Patch Doll was one of the few gifts I remember wanting so badly as a little girl. I remember how happy I was when I tore off the wrapping and found my brown haired blue eyed doll. It's one of my happiest Christmas memories of my childhood. That feeling of receiving a gift that you craved so much. Maybe that's why I always feel a little sad now at Christmas. Nothing can compare as an adult with those childhood feelings of anticipation. I always feel like it is such a waste of money and build up to a day that is over faster than you can blink your eyes.

I think this is another reason people have children. No, not so that they can pay off their credit cards for the rest of the year. So they can be a part of that anticipation and excitement again. It feels great to give a gift that brings so much happiness to someone special. I remembered what it was like to feel that happy when I smelled that overwhelming baby powder mixed with plastic scent.

I don't want my daughter to be materialistic but I hope that in her childhood we can provide a few special gifts that make her feel happy and loved.