Barbies

When I was little I loved my Barbies (Japanese version of course!). Every week I saved my allowance and my mom would take me to Seiyu and I would see which piece of furniture I could afford to buy. I remember standing in the Barbie aisle looking at all that they had to offer and carefully choosing the piece of furniture that I could afford and wanted most.

Looking back now, my mom taught me such valuab le skills of money management. I am sure it would have been easier for her if she would have just bought the pieces for me - after all each piece was only $5 to $10 but I distinctly remember having to save money for a couple of weeks to buy what I wanted. I am so grateful for what she taught me about money management at such a young age. Thanks mom!

To this day I still have those same Barbies and all the furniture in their original boxes. I saved them (not sure why - maybe because I had to work so hard to buy it all?) They are stored safely in a toy box that my grandpa made me when I was born (wow - that toy box is 38 years old!!!)

This past weekend, I opened up the toy box and let Mackenzie play with my treasures! She was delighted and mesmerized by all the things that I had. In fact Dylan was also interested and played along side her for a little while. (Don't tell his daddy!)

It was nostalgic for me to see all the pieces I had collected and to see the little blankets and pillows my mom had sewn for me for my Barbies. I also had little wooden dishes that my dad had brought back to me from his Philippines deployment in the Navy. It all brought back so many good memories I had from my childhood in Japan.

I loved sharing them with Mackenzie, and I loved that she seemed to treasure them too. In fact she told me that she hopes one day she can pass the stuff onto her children. Sometimes she seems so wise beyond her years .