Written on this day, 25 years ago. (How about that. I’ve been journalling for a quarter-century!)
May 11 ’85
I loved my birthday! I got a “my little pony Bow tie”! I also got this diary! I got paper and art Kit! The favors were lovely! Necklaces were from Ben. And 35c! I also got a new pink dress from Mama and Papa! That evning we ate pie for desert! Then I got more presents! Some white gloves, three Debbie books, and some clothes for Jill!
Here we are in 2010, and I’m 32, which is older than I could possibly have imagined being in 1985. “My Little Ponies” are popular once again.
That first diary (mostly white with a photo of a pretty girl at a window with flowers in her hair, gold writing on the front reading “one year diary”) is fragile and falling apart. Thirty-five cents might buy you a few gummi worms. I still remember that pink dress: dotted swiss with a wide white collar, the most beautiful dress in the universe. Also, the desire I had for those white gloves was potent: when I got them, it was a dream come true, and when I put them on, I felt like the most grown-up and sophisticated brand-new seven-year-old possible. And Jill (Gilbertina Jill, actually) was my Cabbage Patch Kid. Her birthday was October 1st.
This morning, I woke up to E gently (maybe he’s finally learning from when I say “Gentle!” all the time) touching my eyelid to get it to open. For my birthday, he gave me a zerbert. I haven’t changed a diaper at all today… we had brunch at With the Grain… we played Settlers… Sean’s boss, who is one of those extra-nice people, made a gorgeous butterfly-shaped cake for me… my hubby is at this moment cleaning the kitchen… it’s a day in the company of people I love… What more could I possibly ask for?
Happy Happy Birthday Di! And I love the sheer number of exclamation marks your 1985 self used! See, it’s contagious! 😀
Haha! I noticed that too! It is kind of funny!
I absolutely loved this! I actually cried when I read the part about the gloves. Mak had wanted these purple satiny-silky type gloves…”princess gloves” she called them. Now I know how she must have felt when I finally bought them and she put them on for the first time. Thank you for this Diana. I am still crying. A good cry. 🙂
Chris, thank you for this. I can absolutely picture those princess gloves and how beautiful Mak is in them. Just goes to show, we never know which of our thoughts or memories will touch someone. 🙂