Growing up as a child I would always think about how much i wanted to get married and having children one day. Playing Barbies with my sister and/or my bestfriend and acting out with Barbie and Ken how I thought life would be for me when i got older. I remember one particular day where my sister, bestfriend and i had dedicated one day for just playing Barbies. We had all of our Barbies layed out with all the clothes, shoes, purses, hats and other accessories all around the room. But we took it even gurther and had both of our doll houses out as well.
My sister had the Barbie Fold and Fun House, and I had the Barbie Magic Sounds House. But what Barbie could have a house with her cars. A pink Corvette, Blue Cadiallac, Red Mustang, and pink Porsche, but after Barbie’s family extended with Stacy, Skipper, and Kelly, we got the Minnie Van as well. Here we are surrounded by all of these Barbies and things, we were in heaven so to speak. Our Barbies even had their own family reunion. Were all of our Barbies and my bestfriends brought over hers and they had a picnic, played games and played with the kids.
The thing we did most with the dolls are change their clothes and brush their hair. Now while we’re doing this, we’re also carrying on a converstaion with the Barbies. Like, “Girl, let me tell you what happened at the hair dresser yesterday… “. As I look back on this I can’t help but think, man, I wish I could go back to those days or if I could go back one day to re-live my childhood. It’s not until I got older and had my son, that i realized how many different factors there are in doing so.
First it’s a big responsibility in having and/or rasing a family. It take a lot of work, sacrafising, struggle, hard ships and just plain ol’ time to do it. Growing up my sister and I never wanted for anythig and almost always got what we wanted. There are serveral times I can think of where we went to the store with one or both of our parents, (mostly just mom), with no intention of getting anything and come back with 1 or 2 things. Whether it would be something as little as a new journal and pen or a chalkboard to something like a new doll house.
Until I became a parent of my own, I never appreciated things my parents did for me as much as I should have or showed. Even in high school, having a jobe, I didn’t appreciate it. Me having a job just meant extra money for me to spend on more things my parents didn’t already buy me. Say for instance, I used to get a new pair of sneakers every month. I didn’t need them, but I got them anyway, or my parents bought them for me anyway. Now I realize why it’s so important to save as much my parents used to and used to try and instill in me whie i was young. Unlike other kids we never received allowence.
At the time, I thought that was the meaniest thing ever, but looking back i’m thinking, “What for? “. We Got what we wanted anyway, why did we need money or allowance for? I now do have a greater appreciation for all the things that my parents did for me. Now that I have a child of my own along with a house, bills and all the other great things we have as adults, I see myself doing the same to my son, my parents did to my sister and me. Since I’m working alone to raise him I can’t splurg as much as I would like to or as my parents did fo rus, but I try really hard to do so.
But in turn, I don’t want to “spoil” him like my parents did my sister and I, as everyone says. I think it’s now too late… My bestfriend and i were just talking about how easy we had it as children, now we’re both grown or adults with children of our own and have to face the responsibilities that we failed to realize our parents had when we were children. Don’t get me wrong, I love who i am now haveing a family, having a career and the fact that i’m back in school tops the cake.