Sonny Boy
There he sits, in the little antique chair, dressed in
his faded red and white striped jacket, wearing his tattered
blue pants and his brown and white oxford shoes. His
permanent smile beams and it makes me smile to look at him.
To me, he is a constant reminder of a mother’s love for her
child.
“Sonny Boy” is the last doll that I received for Christmas.
I was ten years old and after that year I wanted other
things for Christmas.
I had seen the doll in a store window and told my mother
that was the one I wanted for Christmas that year. She said
that she would talk to Santa Claus and see if he would bring
it on Christmas Eve. I remember the excitement as I waited
for Santa to come and bring me the doll.
One day, while working in my parents’ store, I was looking
for something under one of the counters and discovered a
strange box. As I looked at the box I knew that it was the
doll that I had wanted. My dad realized what I had found and
said that my mother had bought it for me. I was happy that I
was getting the doll but some of the thrill of waiting was
gone. I looked forward to Christmas with different feelings.
Several years later I found out the entire story about how
she got the doll. He was in a store about 10 miles from
where we lived. In order to get the doll for me, my mother
rode with the mail carrier to the other town one morning and
stayed the entire day until she could ride home with the
carrier in the evening. Our family only had one vehicle and
my dad needed it so she did not have other means of
transportation. She knew that I wanted the doll and she was
determined to get it for me even if it meant the sacrifice
of an entire day for her.
Many happy hours were spent playing with Sonny Boy but as
the years passed he was replaced with other things in my
life and he was stored away with my other childhood things.
Years later while cleaning out the closet at my parents’
home, I found Sonny Boy along with two of my other dolls in
a plastic bag. His cloth body was in need of repair and his
vinyl head, legs, and arms needed to be cleaned. I carried
him to a doll repairer who told me that he was an American
Character Doll and would probably be worth several hundred
dollars. I told her he was worth more than that to me. She
cleaned him up and made him a new body but I kept the old
clothes. I bought some material to make him some new ones
but decided that I would keep the ones that had been well
used.
One day when our granddaughter was visiting she came walking
in the den with Sonny Boy under her arm. Since her mother
knew he was an old doll, she told Emily to put him back in
the bedroom. I told her it was okay to let Emily play with
him. Even though I knew he was just a doll, it seemed that
the smile on his face was brighter. He had another little
girl to play with him and give him love and I was glad that
he was still giving happiness to a child.
As I think of Christmas and look at Sonny Boy I think of the
love that was given. Even though there were bad times with
my mother, I look at Sonny Boy and remember that love. He
reminds me that love will overcome the bad things that
happen in our lives and we can find joy in the good.
As we remember Christmas, let us remember the love that was
given and is still given to us each day. Let us realize that
we can find joy in our lives if we will only look for it.
Laura Young copyright 2003
LYoung7990@aol.com
I am a retired high school secretary. My husband and I enjoy traveling and visiting family and friends. I have started working on my family history and this year and have been able to reconnect with some of my family. I have had several stories on 2 The Heart: The Hill, The Litter Lady, Mother's Day and A Christmas Story.