One morning I walked into Lily’s room and saw an opportunity for photography. Her nicely made bed was arranged to her pleasure before a day of kindergarten. I thought about the toys lined up on her bed and what they meant to a little person with nearly no earthly possessions. She doesn’t have much, but what she has, she enjoys enormously. Like the song by Sheryl Crow. 

“It’s not having what you want, but wanting what you’ve got” 

An accounting of the toys: 

On the left is Lily’s favorite sleeping buddy. Raggedy Ann was made for Lily by her Great Grandmother last Christmas. Raggedy Ann goes to church with Lily and sits on her lap. I don’t think Lily realizes the uniqueness of that Raggedy Ann doll. It’ll be a real keepsake for her in the coming years. Think of it, a handmade doll made just for you by your Great Grandmother when you were 6 years old. 

Next to Raggedy Ann is Mow Mow. Mow Mow is a webkinz pet that she adopted (stole) from her brother Jack. Jack is over the webkinz craze now so he doesn’t press charges in the court of Mom and Dad. 

The little bunny is a decoration from Sam’s Easter box. Lily thought this little bunny was so cute that she carried it up to her room and adopted it. She’s got a soft spot in her heart for bunnies. 

Fourth from the left is a little buddy that I bought for Lily one day in San Juan Capistrano. There is charming little strip mall in the unofficial Mexican side of town that has a real Mexican restaurant. They serve menudo (boiled pig intestines soup), dried shrimp, Mexican pastries, barbacoa (the face meat from a cow) and some dang good Tortas (mexican sandwiches). I always enjoyed a few minutes of shopping after lunch at the 5 and dime stores surrounding the restaurant. It was like a quick trip to old Mexico! I spied this little guy and thought it looked like Lily, in a way. When I brought it home Lily danced around with it and picked it’s pink plastic nose right off. 

The yellow care bear was her first garage sale purchase. Sam gave her 1 dollar to spend on “whatever you want” on a garage sale trip last summer. Lily found funshine bear and had to have it. It was listed for 1 dollar but she offered the seller 50 cents at Sam’s behest. The seller accepted her offer but I would guess Lily would have paid full retail. Yellow was Lily’s favorite color the first several years of her life. When she was a one year old I liked to surprise her by holding her on my lap and going to care-bears.com. Her response to the site made me laugh. She’d stand up and clap. What makes you stand up and clap? There is truly something for everyone on the internet. Her love of yellow has diminished… last year she confessed her secret to Sam. “Mom, I kind of like pink now but I’m sad because I don’t want to hurt yellow’s feelings” 

Finishing up the line-up is the doll that great Grandma Brown made three years ago. Lily was unsure about its value because she objected to its orange hair. She eventually loved it because it was made by her Grandma, even though it’s arm fell of in a couple of weeks. 

The quilt spread on her bed was made by Grandma Ball many years ago. It was originally given to Bailey but Bailey has chosen a more “sophisticated” bedspread for her bed. Now Lily enjoys its cozy allure. Bailey’s little pink homemade quilt has been Lily’s mainstay for several years. Not pictured here is Lily’s yellow “Mimi” blanket. Grandma Smith makes all of our new babies a blanket. Lilys blanket is named “Mimi” It’s a yellow quilt with ties holding it together. She has pulled most of the ties out so the batting inside has bunched to one corner. It’s got one huge lump on one corner and is perfectly thin throughout the rest. It’s her most steadfast companion. She bunches it around her face every night to sniff it’s friendly scent. 

Every night Lily sleeps under a cozy blanket made by Grandma Ball while sniffing her blankie made by her Grandma Smith and cuddles her Raggedy Ann doll made by her Great Grandma Brown. This is a lucky little girl. No? 

A bunch of cheezy toys on a random bed? I think not!