Not So Fuzzy Memories

From the WordPress Daily Prompt: Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a child. What became of it?

Nearly five decades ago, when I was four and living with my grandparents in Florida after my dad died, my grandmother took a trip to her childhood home in Virginia (my birthplace) and asked me if there was anything I’d like for her to bring back. My reply: a puppy. And when she returned, she gave me the next best thing, which really become THE best thing of my early childhood: Fuzzy Wuzzy

I have many fond memories of my grandfather performing “surgery” on Fuzzy Wuzzy as the beloved pup slowly wore out from love. What I still love best about Fuzzy Wuzzy is that if you look at his face from one side he is smiling, and from the other side he is frowning. He’s always been a natural at reflecting my emotions 🙂

By the time I was six I was horse crazy, and the one thing I wanted most for my birthday was a horse. The next best thing: Roma the stick horse.

The coolest thing about Roma was his red bridle with a ‘real’ bit, now long-lost. He was a birthday gift from my stepfather, and although it was raining cats and dogs on that particular birthday (as it is today), I spent hours riding Roma around the carport while waiting for the sun to shine again.

I’ve always been a sucker for stuffed creatures that seem as if they desperately need a home, and Farmer was one of those creatures. I discovered him at a Fall Festival when I was in elementary school, and he was worth every penny of the quarter I paid for him. His original paper towel stuffing is long gone, but he still keeps Fuzzy Wuzzy company, along with Snoopy – found alongside a Florida road by my grandfather many years ago.

Snoopy, Fuzzy Wuzzy, and Farmer

One Christmas when I was very young, I saw a pull-horse toy in a shop window and determined that was the one thing I wanted most for Santa to bring. Out of all the toys I received for Christmas through the years of my childhood, the pull-horse is the one I still have.

My daughter Trinidad lovingly cleans the dust off my old pull-horse after I take him down off a shelf where he’s been waiting for quite some time 🙂

Teddy the Koala bear (another of my grandfather’s roadside finds), Snoopy, Roma, Farmer, and Fuzzy Wuzzy

I don’t know how these prized possessions have managed to remain with me all these years. I’ve moved so many times and been so many places, it’s always been a surprise to open a packing box and discover them. I don’t think I’ve ever consciously decided to keep any of them, but however they’ve come to still be with me, I do still love having them 🙂

One more thing…after my dad died, my mother remarried, and my stepfather was an owl fanatic. I remember he had a huge collection of owl statues. And one of the things I still have is an owl towel of his, which I still use to dry the blades on my skates. It never ceases to amaze me that this decades-old towel is still in better condition than any of the towels I’ve bought in the last half-decade. And, it’s orange – my favorite color 🙂

Freshly laundered and ready for the rink!

My most prized possession these days: my skates

working with Coach Carmon