While the daughters and granddaughters loved to play with the little village, they also loved their doll houses. I remember Daughter # 2 had a Barbie house that stood almost as tall as she. Daughter # 1’s doll house was a two story metal house with gray shingles and a darker roof. The interior was very tastefully decorated in the very latest 1960’s style and the furniture for each room was a different color. The little people who lived in that house were somewhat movable and their bodies were the same color as their painted on clothes.
Now if you wanted to see a REAL doll house, it would have been MY doll house . My doll house was my most prized possession and I was the envy of every little girl who saw it. I was VERY particular with my doll house. Only very few people were allowed to play with it. Now, my mother could play with it anytime and I often thought she did while I was at school. When I returned from school, I could have sworn that some of the furniture had been rearranged and some of the little people had been moved from where I left them the night before.
My doll house was an absolute dream! The little drawers pulled out on the furniture pieces; the oven door actually opened; the faucets on the sink were movable; the shelves in the refrigerator were removable and the toddler had a little scooter with actual moving parts. The Little Family living in my doll house dressed to the nines; no running shoes or sweats for this family. Father was dressed in a blue suit at all times and mother always wore her pink dress and high heels since the clothes were painted on. The family’s son wore green and the pretty little daughter’s dress was yellow. The toddler always wore just a diaper even in cold weather. They had movable arms and legs and they could easily sit down in chairs. I could tell by the little painted smiles on each of their faces they were always happy. I furnished my little house one room at a time. Horton’s Variety Store had doll furniture so I would save my allowance until I had enough to make a purchase. Each room came in a box with a cellophane front and I never tired of looking at each one and planning my next purchase.
I probably learned more about housekeeping from playing with my little doll house than I learned from my Mother telling me my bed must be made, and the floors swept. Even in my four years of Home Ec. in high school, I probably didn’t learn as much as I did with my doll house. I knew when Mother Pink Dress came home with groceries, the refrigerator shelves would have to be pulled out and cleaned to accommodate the groceries. I knew the little rug I had made from scraps had to be shaken every day because my Little Family was always expecting company. The Little Family had no air conditioning so the windows must be opened daily. Of course, Father Blue Suit expected his meal to be on the table when he came in from work and there was always scurrying about in the kitchen in anticipation of his arrival. Mother Pink Dress spent her time wisely. When she wasn’t baking or cleaning, she was setting in front of her little blue, red and yellow treadle sewing machine that actually had moving parts.
I still have my little doll house, the Little Family and all the furniture. I cherish the memories of my time playing with it as well as watching our daughters and granddaughters playing with my doll house in later years.
As we grow older, memories become dearer. After all, some of us have trouble remembering what we ate yesterday but have no problem remembering the toys we played with and the friends from childhood.
I often wonder what our houses will be like in Heaven. Not everyone here on earth wants a 5,000 square foot home but they are satisfied with just a small cottage. I believe that our houses will be perfect for us. Will we have friends visit in our homes in Heaven? Will we sit in our porch swing and enjoy the riches God has provided each of us? Will we eat of the fruits that God provides? I don’t know any of this but I do know that Heaven will be an eternal dwelling place for those who have committed their lives to Christ. And, it will be perfect for each of us.
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3 NIV
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