Ode to Barbie Dolls, Rubber Rats...and Blogging

You know, I've always thought that I was a pretty typical little girl growing up...

I played Mommy with my baby dolls (oh, how I loved my dolls!) and then it was Mystery Date with Barbies and my brother's one-armed (he had an accident) G.I. Joe.

I was a bookworm and had my nose buried in a book much of the time, but also had a bit of the tomboy and daredevil in me too.

I remember riding my bicycle down the street near my grade school - with hands raised high, and both eyes shut. Yes, I fell. But I was proud to show off my scuffed knees and elbows to my sibs, daring them to give it a try too.

Typical kid stuff.

But this morning I suddenly remembered The Rat.

When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I bought myself a black rubber rat with babysitting money. It had sort of a slick oily look to it, with a long winding tail and beady red eyes. Ugh...gives me the creeps thinking about it. But I slept with that thing! Its name was Oscar.

I'm not sure what I was trying to prove. I suppose I was at an age when I wanted to show that I wasn't a little girl anymore. (Little girls sleep with dolls, not rats.) Plus, growing up as daughter-number-three in a lineup of 7 girls and 2 boys, I think that I was continuously struggling to stand out in some way. I wanted to be unique. The rat made me eccentric, but that was fine too.

I'm not sleeping with rats anymore. (Or at least I try not to very often. :-) But I know that I've got a lot of that doll-loving, book-crazy, risk-taking, attention-craving girl still in me.

I think I can learn a lot from that little girl - and her rat friend.

As adults, it's important for us to look back often at who we were at 5 and 9 and 12 and ask: What did I like to do? What made me happy? What was I good at? And what did I dream of becoming when I grew up?

"Lucy Writes a Novel" - I Love Lucy episode 90, season 3, originally aired 4/5/1954. Photo courtesy of Clown Ministry

For instance, the career at the top of my "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up" dream list back then was Writer.  But somewhere along the way that dream got lost.  I don't think it was a conscious decision.  Life happens, other options presented themselves, and I chose another path.  

But look what I'm doing right now.  Blogging.  Writing!  In a way that I could never have predicted back then, I have become a writer of sorts - and in a very public venue, the internet!  

No wonder I've been having so much fun blogging. My inner child is finally feeling satisfied.

"Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera..."

Doris Day sings Que Sera Sera in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much.  YouTube video courtesy of Zennmann

Curious - as an adult, do you find yourself doing many of those same things that you enjoyed or were especially good at as a child?  For those of you who have a blog - was writing one of those things?  Or does blogging satisfy another need - a creative outlet, perhaps?

I didn't mention that #2 on my list of "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up" was......
Psychologist.  ;-)

Enjoy your weekend! 

p.s. - In case you were wondering about the old family photo - I'm the little girl behind (and above) the sister in the white communion dress. Just five, but I look so cocky and sure of myself.  I want her back...