The Doll that I Had Always Wanted

Growing up in Mobile, AL as a child there was one thing that I had always wanted. My parents struggled to make ends meet with six children including myself and there were not many things that we had that were not a basic necessity. One Christmas all I asked for was a Chatty Cathy Doll. There was usually one gift each for us under the tree and this year was no different. There under the tree was what I thought was the doll that I had asked for. Unfortunately it was only clothes and I dared not let my parents see the tears that were in my eyes on Christmas morning.

When I grew up and got a good job of my own, I promised that one day I would get one of those dolls. It would be a symbol of why I worked and provided for my own family. That was twenty years ago. Last summer I found an old journal where I had written that down. it brought back a flood of feelings and I knew that I would search out a Chatty Cathy for myself. I searched for months at every antique store and flea market that I could find with no avail. Then one day as I sat in front of my computer with wild blue internet service, it hit me. Why had I not looked online? Within seconds I had Chatty Cathy dolls all over my screen that were for sale.

The day that my doll arrived at my door I could not help the tears that flowed freely from my eyes as I signed for it. I sat her up in the kitchen for everyone to see. This was the doll that I had always wanted and I finally had her after thirty years of hard work.

This is a guest post by Katie Rollio