With a few of Marlene’s boxes still in the basement after 10 years, by now almost 11, the review of their contents was long overdue. Plus we needed the space. When I finally took a look, to my surprise amidst packing peanuts I found them filled with Juliet’s keepsakes – the toys that lived at my parent’s house, bought by them so their granddaughter would feel at home when she visited. Some were familiar to me, even duplicates of those she had at home, while others were not. As I unpacked and assembled each among the new toys I’ve got now for my Violet and Jack, I found I liked the idea of their mother’s toys being part of their treasures here, along with even some of my own – such as my storybooks from great aunt Hilda. It flattens time.
There were other things in the boxes too, her dishes, and drawings – and these.
Their flip-side tells the tale.
In the early 1960’s my parents and I would play Community Auditions after dinner. Community Auditions was a popular New England based television show first airing in the 50s when I was a kid. Local talent performed and was voted on by the viewing audience via postcard. Winners were announced the following week. I can sing the entirety of its theme song even now – Star of the Day who will it be? Your vote may hold the key… – as can everyone else of my generation who grew up in the area, I’d say.
Mum, Dad, and I would separately dance or sing, then vote, and I would win. I would always win – except the night I didn’t. Apparently earlier on that particular evening Mum and Dad had had a parental discussion, and believing it would be better for my childhood development for me not to expect to always win they determined Marlene would take the prize that night. So after our performances, the drum roll… and I still remember the shock of Dad’s announcement. “Wow,” he would say even years later, recalling my reaction, “Imagine if…” And while I’m not entirely sure it was my loving parents who needed to teach me that lesson, the one I’d most certainly learn on the playground soon after, it’s no matter. On the front lines of raising me right I know that my well-being was their only concern.
Years later, with their granddaughter Juliet spending frequent weekends at their place, my parents created a world for her filled with cardboard playhouses and plastic tea sets, games of miniature golf, and, come to find out, their own version of Community Auditions. Who knew! It’s noteworthy that in those keepsake boxes I found no paper medals for Juliet in 2nd place – on their 1st place pedestal she stayed, always winning the gold.
Grandparents. That’s how we roll.
Win Place Show, my latest knit design, published 1/8/2020.