Erica Reid--An American Girl

To me, the American Girl Dolls are very very special.

The American Girl Company was founded in 1986, and I have no idea how they found a seven year old girl in Mississippi that year, but they did. Oh yes, they did. And my whole life changed. There were three dolls then: Kirsten, Molly and Samantha. They were so beautiful--especially Kirsten. Kirsten had blonde hair and braids that swooped back into little loops by her ears. She had a blue flowered dress. I loved her. The catalogs dedicated a double page to every scenario--school! Nighttime! Kitchen! Outdoor fun! A new catalog came every two weeks, and I poured over each one for hours, getting excited whenever a new accoutrement was added. Sadly, they were so expensive, we were never able to afford one, but I understood.

It educated me, too, and was a part of my day to day life. In 4th grade ROTOC* which later became GATES**, I dressed as St. Lucia for a presentation, not because I knew anything about it, but because that was how Kirsten celebrated Christmas in the catalog.

My BBFFAAAH*** Sarah had both Molly and Samantha, and we had so much fun playing with them. Well, mainly, she would play with them and I would hold them and gaze at them longingly and secretly envy them and wonder why she didn't get Kirsten, who was clearly the best of the three. Molly was ok, and Samantha was a rich girl with her gold locket and watercress sandwiches, not a down to earth girl like me Kirsten.

When I first moved to Chicago, my friend Drew took me to American Girl Place, and it was glorious. A wonderland. I am pretty sure I cried.

The other day, I spied a catalog sitting in the front entryway of our 6 unit apartment building. Since one of these units house two 9ish year old twin girls, I left it for them to pick up. Then a few weeks went by and it was still there... HAHA! IT WAS MINE! I poured through the pages, my heart a little twittery and with a grin on my face. Now, there are 9 American Girls, and the catalog only dedicates a page or two to a few of them (except for Kit, who has about a bazillion pages.) Sadly, there was only just a couple of tiny pictures of Kirsten. But that by far wasn't the saddest thing in the catalog--they are retiring Samantha. Why is this so sad to me? It isn't like I feel old about it--it was a long time ago, yes, but it feels like yesterday. Maybe it is cause these new little girls don't understand. Or, hell, maybe they do. The website has a place where you can share your fondest memories of her. Goodbye Samantha, we will miss you.

The store recently moved from it's old location into a new home in Water Tower Place. Maybe one day soon I can take Fuzzy there, and I can be 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 all over again.

*Reaching Out To Our Community
**Gifted And Talented Educational Services
***Best Best Friends For Always And A Half. We still are!