Precious Past

We all had toys when we were kids, some we played with all the time, others were a fleeting craze. Most toys ended up in the wardrobe or under the bed before being moved on to the attic, charity shops, or passed to family members with younger kids. We look back fondly on our toys and games. We learn and grow with the toys we had, we learnt about money and spending from Monopoly, actions and consequences from playing Dare. How fun life could be with Sindy, Barbie and the rest of the girls…..Ken’s there too off course! We played vets with our soft toys and bandaged them up when they were injured. We loved them.

Many of the toys and games we had, didn’t make it past childhood. Many, like I’ve said are passed on. We keep a lot in the beginning, as treasures from the past, but the more we grow up and move house, less and less come with us. It’s a bit like Toy Story, the toys are together but as the kids grow up they are moved on to another ‘owner’. We hold memories in our toys, the fun games we played, the friends we had, the holidays we went on, the places we visited. If your toys could talk, what would they recall? What would they say?

I have some Care Bears and a few soft toys which have actually made it to my house. They sit in my cupboard and every so often when I tidy it out, I look at them. I think about how much joy they brought me and the fun I had, then I put them away again. These toys mean a lot, they are bright and colourful and make me smile. I doubt I will part with this select few.

But there is one toy that has been with me forever, through everything in life, since I was three years old, my precious soft toy cat called Puzzles. He came everywhere with me, and as the years flashed by, he has lost his whiskers, his tongue and became very worn around the neck from where I carried and hugged him. He was sewn and washed many times, I used to watch him hang on the washing line by his ears….MUM – BY HIS EARS! How could you. 😆

He is my friend, he has listened to me from when I was a kid, from being upset, scared, when friendships broke up, to when arguments happened, to the fun days, to growing up and going to college then uni, to boyfriends and drunk nights. This cat has been with me through everything, just sitting observing and listening from my bed, a shelf or seat, wherever he fitted. This cat is my memory bank, a place where all my thoughts, feelings and love have been placed, he knows my secrets and is the link to my past.

Puzzles was given to me when I was three years old by my grandparents. When we used to visit them in the house my dad grew up in, they used to feed this black cat, I loved him. I would go and try and stroke him. He was called Puzzles, as it was a puzzle as to where the cat came from. When they gave me the soft toy cat, it could only be called Puzzles! Fast forward 37 years and here we are! He is part of my everyday life, he is my link to my past.

When I was nine, we got a kitten, and guess what, I called her Puzzles.

Our toy’s were a source of comfort to us as children, they were our friends, our confidant and our pillow to cry upon. They made us feel loved, listened to and safe. Maybe you had that one toy that was your world and was your warmth. Have you still got it? How does it make you feel now?

What do we do now as adults for comfort? Who do we talk to? Share our secrets with? Partners? Friends? Family? Being an adult can be really hard sometimes, the decisions we make and take can be a struggle and there are times when we wish we could be a kid again. But aside from having no responsibility, is it our toys that we miss? Being able to forget everything and focus solely on the fun, the here and now and how they make us carefree and safe, shutting the world out?

Friends take over from toys, we confide in them, have fun and look to them for advice and help, when we need it. Our friends become everything our toys were and some are still a link to the past. So take care of your friendships, treat your friends the same way you would have treated your favourite toy as a child, with love and respect.

Every so often take a look at your childhood toys if you still have them and smile at the memories they hold.

Oh, if our toys could talk!

Have a lovely week and look after you!

Love Emma xxx