I remember the day that I decided to stop playing with dolls
We had moved to a new neighborhood
in a new State
to a new life
And my mom left the unpacking long enough to help me get my favorite doll Mary Margaret all dressed up and tucked in to her stroller.
Mary Margaret and I went out the door filled with anticipation.
It was a soft North Carolina morning in late summer- a beautiful day full of promise
So many new things to see!
We came back to the house five minutes later….different.
Some older kids
( not tough to be older as I was only 7)
had found my taking my doll friend for a walk a real hoot.
Mary Margaret and I never went for a walk again.
Those kids are long gone, and I still have Mary Margaret
She sits on a shelf in my study and never tells me who or what I have to be
She has not changed a bit since that day we took our last walk together and I do not believe her little doll soul ever judged me for my decision to abandon her that day
Mary Margaret has always been a very self confident doll, it seems
Kids have it tough, you know.
Someone is always sizing them up
Classmates, teachers, parents, friends
It makes it hard to learn to be a "me"
And it is not much easier when you are a grown up-
There will always be someone who is mean or thoughtless
and you find yourself looking in the mirror asking yourself how you can change to avoid the emotional blows
Maybe if I grow up just a little bit more..
or.....I have a better idea!
Today, in my mind, Mary Margaret and I are going to finish that walk
And the bullies and the brats of the world are not going to stop us
Today, I am going to get that little piece of me back
Join us?
And that is poetiquejustis
