dear Katie and Mikki…
when i was a little girl your grandpa took me to the most magical place in the whole wide world. no, it wasn’t Disney World, Sea World, or Chucky Cheese. it was Mr. Barrymore’s Toy Store. this was not your ordinary, run of the mill toy store. it wasn’t Toys r’ Us, who thrives on semi-keen marketing and stock by the bulk. in fact, i don’t even think Mr. Barrymore carried a single Barbie, or other cheap mass produced toys. still, i can remember walking in from the bustle of downtown Rockland, Maine and hearing the sweet jingle of the tiny, silver bell on the door as we entered and holding your grandpa’s sandpaper, callused hand tight with excitement that would almost make me sick. the store was bright with tiny, and perfectly hand painted train sets, and exquisitely stuffed teddy bears. grandpa would always take me in on his payday… on friday after working endlessly at the fish plant all week. most times, we would just stand looking together, both with eyes wide and filled with the same supreme childish wonder. we would never buy…ever. just look. and for some reason, looking was always good enough, and seeing the toys was always a treat in itself. but, one day…one absolutely amazing day that i can only describe to you by saying that, even now, at almost 30 years old, i still get tingles whenever i think back (i know this is a run on sentence)…we bought a hand tufted Paddington Bear complete with shiny red boots, a blue jacket with wooden buttons, and a red felt hat. the feeling the bear evokes has always been more important than the bear itself, i guess.
to the point….
your grandpa always used to say to me in the Maine accent he tried so hard to hide…’never loose the feeling of being a kid in a candy shop’. and i remember kind of thinking that was crazy, because i love candy, and didn’t plan on growing out of that love {who doesn’t love candy anyway??} and i would always feel excited about it. but, as i look back on it, i think he was trying to make me realize that even little things, not sugar or stuffed animal related, should aways fill you with a sense of wonder. gum balls, pigtails, sprinkles on ice cream, snuggles in the morning, the chatter of two little girls conversing over a fresh box of newly opened crayola crayons and naked coloring books waiting for outside the line adventures….little wonderfuls.
all my love darlings,
p.s. daily mantra: “never loose the feeling of being a kid in a candy shop.” {grandpa.young}
by amanda.b.
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