Writing that post started me thinking about my first friends, the ones I've known since I was mere moments old. Today I want to introduce them to you.
Here I am with Baby:
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| I think we're watching TV. Aren't we adorable? ;-) |
And here is a younger version of me with my friends Panda Bear and Mouse:
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| I'm not sure what that look on my face is all about... |
I know: I wasn't very creative at naming things back in my childhood years, but I assure you that age has brought wisdom in that respect. My kids' names are not Boy and Girl. I call them He and She. ;-)
Regardless of their uninspired names, Baby, Panda Bear, Mouse, and I have enjoyed a friendship that has lasted all my thirty-something years. They've traveled with me from state to state and house to house, and they're among the possessions I intend to pass down to my children someday.
So tell me, who were your first friends—real or, as in my case, stuffed?
I was kind of lucky with my first friends, because my mum had friends who had given birth just a few months before her. So I was born with two girl friends who I spent a lot of time with when I was growing up!
ReplyDeleteOh, that must have been great--kind of like built-in friends!
Deletewe lived in a row house..and my neighbor was in the bedroom next to mine...we would knock on the wall to meet outside...
ReplyDeleteI would have loved that!
Deletehow cute with your first friends; loved the pictures of you with them :) I also think it is neat you still have them and plan to pass them down to your kids as they grow.
ReplyDeleteMy first friend I can remember are family friends we met when we first moved to California; there were three kids in their family and three in ours and their ages were very close to ours; 2 girls, 1 boy in each family. We stayed friends all through school until we all got married and went our separate ways (as I guess probably is a common thing to occur).
hope you have a great day!
betty
Baby is my favorite. I have pictures of my kids with her. Well, maybe that's only my son. I might have forgotten to do the same with my daughter... Regardless, she's starting to fall apart, so I probably won't hand her over until my kids are grown. I don't want anyone breaking her!
DeleteHow great that you were able to grow up with your friends! I didn't meet my best friend until I was in junior high. I'm happy to say that we still stay in touch, although not as often as we'd like. I think you're right, though: most often, people tend to go their separate ways.
Have a wonderful day!
Like Kyra, I grew up surrounded by the children of my parents' friends. We lost touch during our teen years when the parents stopped taking us along to get-togethers. I guess our interests were too different to maintain the friendships.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that friends grow apart, but I guess it's sometimes inevitable. I've had friendships like that, too. My friend Beth and I were inseparable in college, and then suddenly we weren't close anymore--and I have no idea why. Maybe our interests just started to differ, as you mentioned.
DeleteHave a great day, Dawn!
Having five kids in a family pretty much predetermines who your BFFs are. Even when you hate them and can't stand them - you always have someone to play with - or torture. My mom always told us as kids, "Don't fight because there will come a day when your siblings are all you have!". She was right. And I am so thankful to that woman - although I will never understand how she did it - for having so many kids because I could not function without all of my sibs.
ReplyDeleteMy brother is thirteen years older than I am, so I was pretty much on my own until my sister was born about two and a half years after I was. Then I had that built-in friend you're talking about. There were so many times when we hated each other, but, as you said, we always had someone to play with, even then. My mother said the same thing your mom did--and she was also right. My sister and I are closer now than we ever were. :)
DeleteI have a big cloth doll that my uncle gave me on my first birthday. She was taller than I was at the time. I was no better at naming things. I loved Cookies, so I named her Cookie. I drug her with me everywhere and slept with her. The dog chewed her yarn hair, she was left under a car that leaked oil on her face, her arms and legs (attached with buttons) have been sewn back on several times. I suppose she doesn't look too bad for a very, very well-loved 60 year old doll. :)
ReplyDeleteAw, what a sweet story! Baby was bigger than I was, too, when I first got her. My dad bought her just moments after I was born. (This was in the days before ultrasounds, so my parents had no idea they were expecting a girl.) Dad wanted to be the first one to get me a doll. :)
DeleteGlad I'm not the only one who was less than creative with names! My kids are the same way, too. They have Doggy and Monkey and Baby... Haha!
As others have mentioned, having siblings can give you first friends right off the bat. I am sure that my brother Mark - who is 359 days older than I am - was my first friend. Although we had three older brothers (and really not that much older - they were 3, 5, and 6 when I was born), Mark and I tended to hang together in childhood.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was five, I received Diana for Christmas. I actually still have her. My mother made her! She is only about eight inches tall and was sewn with love. I adored that baby doll!
It must have been great to have a sibling so close to your age!
DeleteDiana sounds pretty special. That's how I feel about Baby.
I can't remember who my first friends were, but I know who my last friends will be! My daughter, my mother and my sisters!!!! Yea for real people!! (Although I loved stuffed animals, too :))
ReplyDeleteMy first friend is an equally middle-aged man I met when I was sentenced to St. Stanislaus Catholic school in the 1960s. The character of Spags, in 'Shag Carpet Toilet' (now on Kindle and Nook-ranked 500,000 out of 1,000,000. Give or take a half million) is based on him. Even though he lives in Connecticut and I in Pennsylvania (my former home won't let me spend more than two nights there), we still keep in touch. And make bets whose feet will disappear first.
ReplyDeleteAddendum to my comment: Now that you look at it...considering that 'SCT' is ranked 500,000 out of 1,000,000, how sucky can those BELOW my book possibly be?
DeleteHaha! Who's winning the bet so far?
DeleteActually, he is. I can even still see Little Al. Despite the...uh...'little' part.
DeleteThat one really made me LOL! *Ahem*
DeleteMy first best friend was Ellen, she was my neighbor. We had so many memorable fun times growing up. She had the coolest play house on the block. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like some good memories. :)
DeleteI had a group of first best friends :) There were generally eight of us (although the number fluctuated over the years). They all live in the village and we bonded in a big way :) Now we don't get together like we used to - everyone has their own stuff going on - but there's a sweet connection that can't be broken.
ReplyDeleteHow great it must be to have that many close friends! I only have two friends that I consider "best." I guess I'm kind of a loner, really. I've never been part of a huge group.
Deleteawwww these pics are so sweet!!
ReplyDeleteThanks. :)
DeleteSuch cute pictures! I had a yellow bunny I got one Easter as a toddler and named her Bunny. (Must be a toddler thing!) I had a stuffed cocker spaniel named Spot, and Hefty smurf and Smurfette.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christine. :) I think you're probably right about the naming thing.
DeleteCute pictures! I still have my very first Cabbage Patch Doll, Florie Darby. I think I was around one when my grandmother got her for me. I choose to believe that someone else came up with that horrible name. :-) On the human front, my best friend Crystal and I have been friends for over ten years.
ReplyDeleteI like the name. It's definitely creative!
DeleteIsn't it great to have friendships that last for years? I love having a best friend who really knows me. :)
Cute photos!
ReplyDeleteI have one little bear/monkey that has been aroun dsince before I can remember. And a little doll purse from a neighbor that still has the tire marks from my tricycle tire...I remember putting it on the handle bars when I rode around the driveway....and a Raggedy Ann who is quite raggedy.
Happy Thursday!
Thanks. :)
DeleteAw, great memories! I loved Raggedy Ann, too. My grandma made me a set (Ann and Andy) when I was little.
Hope you had a nice day.
When I was REALLY young, I had an imaginary friend named Bobby Cox. Momma even had to set Bobby Cox a place at the table. My parents could never figure out if Bobby was a boy or girl. And many years later, I became a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves coached by who else -- Bobby Cox! Musta been a sign.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a sign to me! I love how your mom had to set a place for Bobby. :)
DeleteI don't think I had any imaginary friends... Well, when I started writing, I talked to the characters in my head, but I don't know if that counts. ;)
Cute piccies. My first friend was my little brother, born thirteen months after me. Until his tabbed me int back with a pair of scissors when he was six months old.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Martin.
DeleteI don't know whether to laugh or say yikes. :)
Laugh.
DeleteOh, I did! ;)
DeleteI love the names! I had Jack the Tiger, and Princess Panda, who inevitably ended up being called Panda. I try hard with my kids to get them to name their stuffed animals, but except for one a piece, they are Blue Bear, Sheep, and Doggie.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janna. My kids use the same kinds of names for their stuffed animals. Someone else mentioned that it must be a toddler thing. :)
DeleteI can't even remember when I was very young... my earliest recollection would be with dolls and stuffed toys:) I also gave them names, which brought them closer. My favourite was a doll called Julie... but then my sister drew on her cheeks, and I remember being devastated.
ReplyDeleteJulie sounds like she was pretty special to you. I would be devastated as well if someone did that to Baby or any of the others.
DeleteSad to say, I don't remember any stuffed toys from my childhood. I did have a Betsey Wetsy doll. I think her attraction is obvious from her name. You fed her a bottle and then she... It's funny...there are chunks of my childhood I don't remember. I've never figured out why.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember much before my sister was born. I was a little over two and a half, and I remember the day my dad and I picked up my mom and sister at the hospital. I have a lot of gaps, though.
Delete