“Lucas, what would you like for lunch?”
“Mac ‘n’ cheese, please!”
“Okay, do you want to pick out a bowl?”
My mother attended West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas. Her best friend and roommate was named Brenda. My mother remarked more than once that Brenda’s sole purpose for attending college was to find a husband.
It was a different time in the early sixties.
My mother told me how Brenda would never go anywhere without full make-up on because as she would say, you just never know.
This drove my mother crazy.
I believe my mother had aspirations of working for the United Nations as a French translator. As it turned out she ended up getting married in college too.
Brenda actually went on at least one date with my father before my mother started dating him. She said that she knew from the moment she met him, that he was the man she’d marry. I love that.
I met Brenda on several occasions and she was lovely. She did marry while in college. Twice that I know of. She had three children. Her eldest was two years older than me, a boy. I got all of his hand me downs.
This meant I wore a lot of blue and red. I didn’t know the difference and my parents were struggling to make ends meet so they were grateful for the clothes.
Back in the 70’s, cartoon/television characters weren’t plastered all over everything like they are today, so the bowl and cup set I had with Raggedy Ann and Andy’s likeness were special, as were the Mickey Mouse spoon and fork.
My mother didn’t make a point of giving these to me, I simply found them one day in our kitchen long after I had outgrown them and decided to keep them. At the time, I wasn’t sure why.
Now I do.
I don’t have any of my old clothes that I wore as a toddler and certainly none of the hand me downs from Brenda’s son. I do have a few well loved, stuffing-coming-out-of-their-heads stuffed animals and baby dolls with terrible haircuts and an old Barbie case filled with Barbies and accessories, but none of that would I share with Lucas, so I’m happy I saved these dishes and can hand them down to him.
Hearing “I want the Raggedy Ann and Andy bowl, Mommy.” is music to my ears.
