Knitted Twins;
My Mother was not surprised when I returned earlier than foreseen from my holidays. The school holidays had not yet ended and my Mum said I had to look after myself and reprimanded me to be good as she had to work.
I did not mind to be on my own. Most of my time I would join the village children to play. We played in the gardens on the fields, in the woods and in the haylofts.
I also liked to be by myself. Along the river I had discovered a place where huge boulders had formed a sort of a cave. There I made my own home. I took my books, my crayons, drawing paper and my twin dolls Freddy and Sonja to this secret place.
They were a Christmas present my mother had made for me. She had knitted their bodies and made many garments for them. Sonja was slim with a longish face that did not smile. It was like my mother had run out of stuffing when she made the doll. Freddy was chubby and had a friendly smile on his face, he was also the pretty one of the two. They were soft and pliable only their hair was very rigid in tight curls. Their feet were knitted in black wool to identify shoes.
It was a time when my mother was short of money. My father had caught a bad cold and his kidneys were badly affected. His Doctor made a bad decision and treated him for appendicitis. He was near death and had to spend a long time in hospital until he recovered. It was around Christmas and she made all the Christmas presents herself. Later I received more sophisticated dolls but none were as loved and precious as the knitted twins.
On a visit from a friend of my mother, she gave the twins away to her small daughter. When I discovered that the twins were given away I was very angry with my mother. I pleaded to get them back. She could not understand why I made such a fuss about the rag dolls as I had now better dolls who could say “Mamma” and close their eyes. I said I want my twins back you can give all the other dolls away. My mother relented and talked to her friend about the dolls but they were already thrown away and could not be recovered. I really loved the odd twins, I never got them back. From then on I did not play with dolls anymore.
They were a Christmas present my mother had made for me. She had knitted their bodies and made many garments for them. Sonja was slim with a longish face that did not smile. It was like my mother had run out of stuffing when she made the doll. Freddy was chubby and had a friendly smile on his face, he was also the pretty one of the two. They were soft and pliable only their hair was very rigid in tight curls. Their feet were knitted in black wool to identify shoes.
It was a time when my mother was short of money. My father had caught a bad cold and his kidneys were badly affected. His Doctor made a bad decision and treated him for appendicitis. He was near death and had to spend a long time in hospital until he recovered. It was around Christmas and she made all the Christmas presents herself. Later I received more sophisticated dolls but none were as loved and precious as the knitted twins.
On a visit from a friend of my mother, she gave the twins away to her small daughter. When I discovered that the twins were given away I was very angry with my mother. I pleaded to get them back. She could not understand why I made such a fuss about the rag dolls as I had now better dolls who could say “Mamma” and close their eyes. I said I want my twins back you can give all the other dolls away. My mother relented and talked to her friend about the dolls but they were already thrown away and could not be recovered. I really loved the odd twins, I never got them back. From then on I did not play with dolls anymore.
Photo TS
4 comments:
Oh wow..Titania..it's like, gulp-you captured this so well! Amazing..was something she had no idea you placed such value on? Sure takes me back to a few incidents!
My Grandma (dad's mom)..her apendix ruptured (I'd heard something strange like they just had to sew it back up) I guess that meant not removing it? So I was told- I guess it can be fatal.
I love the imagery in your story.. always captivating-
Thanks for your comments to my photos too-
Thank you Regina for your comment. Children value things differently than grown ups.
Treasures beyond measure. I enjoyed your post Titania and I can understand your attachment to the twins. I almost gave a raggedy old teddy bear away that I loved to a cousin but the sense of loss drove me to bribe my cousin with a much newer toy to get that teddy bear back from her. I still have it.
O ja das kann ich nachfühlen liebe Titania, da wäre ich auch traurig und wütend zu gleich gewesen. Und das andere Mädchen hatte nicht diese innere Beziehung zu den gestrickten Zwillingen wie Du.
Ja manchmal ist es schwer für die Erwachsenen sich in eine Kinderseele einzufühlen, doch Deine Mutter war eine ganz tolle Frau, wie ich immer aus Deinen Geschichten herauslese.
Einen guten Wochenstart wünsche ich Dir
Liebe Grüsse
Elfe
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