What's Mine is Yours

Ellen turned five last week and when she did, that meant that I had to follow through on a promise that I made two years ago. The time had come to pass along my dollhouse.

I think Mom and Dad gave me the dollhouse when I was 8 years old. It was at Christmas and it was in a TV box that wasn't wrapped on one side. That Christmas several of my relatives gave me furniture for it and my Aunt Barbara gave me a handmade cloth family--a father, mother, big sister, and a baby. The mother had "real" curls and the baby had a "real" diaper. All of them had real clothes and felt shoes, which have been lost long ago.

Ellen was terribly excited to receive the dollhouse. She is at the perfect age for pretend play. It's not a cheaply made dollhouse. Most of the furniture was handmade by the same man that made the house. One bedroom set is oak, and everything is stained and varnished. I made the tiny ceramic dishes and the bathroom fixtures. It even has tiny silverware in the dining room and minature blocks in the baby's toy box. I pray that she takes good care of it, so that she can pass it along to her daughter one day.