Before I was born my
father enlisted in the Canadian Army. While he was over seas during WWII my
mother delivered me. After a week my father was finally found in France and told
of his new little baby daughter. He went into a department store there, one of
the few that were still in operation, and he bought a doll for his little baby
daughter.
He carried this small 13-inch composition and
cloth-bodied doll in his knapsack all through the war until he was severely
wounded. After coming to a London hospital he was relieved to see that the doll
for me had been kept safe, and was still in his knapsack. He was able to return
home to Canada on leave three months later, with the doll for his little girl.
I have her still, kept safe in a place of honor, for my mother had put her up in
a safe place until I was older. I have been collecting dolls for years now and
have some very beautiful expensive dolls but my very favorite - most priceless -
is the little 13-inch doll with go-to-sleep eyes, a gift from my beloved father,
so many years ago.
Story addition
Hello again,
It was a pleasure to share my doll story
with you and your readers. When I read it in print, it was like sharing my dad
with others even though he's not here any longer, for he passed away 8 years
ago. I liked the thought that others would read my doll story and know in some
measure just what sort of a wonderful father he was, for he surely loved me, and
I him. I showed the story to my 83-year-old mother, as she was reading it a
smile crept across her face as she remembered the particulars surrounding that
doll.
My dad had been severely wounded as I
said, but his "dog tags" went missing so they didn't know who he was for he lay
unconscious in that London England hospital for 3 weeks. Word came to my mother
that he was missing in action. My Mother, having just had me, believed that he
was gone forever. When he finally regained his memory he remembered the doll and
asked for his knapsack, low, there she was safe and sound. My mother rejoiced
greatly to know her husband was safe, and I still had a father, who I didn't see
until I was 3 months old... He has been and ever will be dear to my heart!
Thanks again, Joan
Story
addition 02-01-08
Hi Gary,
I am so very saddened to tell you that my darling mother
has now gone
to join my dad! She passed away last August 10th, just two days
before her 86th birthday, I miss her so dreadfully since she lived
with us. She suffered a stroke after just getting over pneumonia &
was "gone" 24 hours later.
So ends, finally, My Doll Story with my dear mothers passing, but my
old doll is here still.
All the Best
Joan
Here is a poem I composed in my mums memory, somehow writing my
feelings down made me feel better,
The Empty Chair
I knew the day would come,
I'd hoped it wasn't near,
The day the Lord would call you home,
You'd be no longer here.
I sat there through the night,
praying you'd come around,
holding on with all my might,
although you made no sound.
Did you feel my presence there?
Could you sense my longing prayer?
All through that darkest fateful night,
that the Lord might spare your life.
I knew you wanted ever more,
To stay with us and be a part,
Of everything we all lived for,
Our family bond close to your heart.
It wasn't meant to be,
That you'd come home with me,
Our Father knew you'd suffered so,
He called you, so you had to go
To be with Him in Glory bright,
Where there is never ever night,
And you would walk on streets of gold,
His Blessed Face you now behold.
The great times that we shared,
I see them through my tears,
your empty chair I always feared,
Sits here throughout my years.
A Mother is a special friend,
Loving and caring right to the end.
Yes, you were that and more to me,
your time with us went too quickly.
This sadness that I feel today,
These lonely times I shuffle through,
Will all be past when we shall say,
He knows what’s best, for me, for you.
And we shall be with Him,
Together with The Lord,
to know that special Hymn,
We'll sing His Praise forever more,
and never shall we part.
In Loving Memory of Ruby, by her Daughter Joan, August 10 2007.