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Here’s to rocking childhood memories
by Guest blogger

7.3.2017
|
Post

Recently my friend Julie posted a photo of an old rocking horse on Facebook. It’s suspended by springs over a frame—just like the one I had when I was a kid. This horse is named Freddy, and he has a straw cowboy hat. Julie’s family was having a yard sale of old toys their children had outgrown, and Freddy was on sale.

I impulsively said that I’d buy Freddy if he didn’t sell. Just looking at his photo on Facebook made me feel incredibly happy. I figured that I could give it to somebody’s kids when I was done enjoying his company for a few weeks.

I was a horse-crazy girl. I guess I still am.

I look at websites of horses for sale when I’m bored. I daydream about riding now almost as much as I did when I was 11-years-old. In recent months I’ve been remembering how much fun I had as a kid with horse-related toys and books.

I loved doing paint-by-number pictures of horses—it was a perfect activity for someone who is a little OCD like me. I could carefully paint inside the lines for hours on end. My parents were probably worried I would go blind. A few weeks ago, I decided to rediscover the joy of painting by numbers and ordered a horse picture kit from Amazon.

[bctt tweet=”Old toys and books bring back memories and reunite us with the joys and dreams of childhood.” username=”womenoftheelca”]

As a child, I probably read hundreds of horse books, and I especially loved Marguerite Henry’s novels. Misty of Chincoteague. King of the Wind. White Stallion of Lipizza. I’m thinking I might reread a couple one of these days to see if they were as good as I remember.

Old toys and books bring back memories and reunite us with the joys and dreams of childhood. Do you have favorite toys and books from childhood that can bring a smile to your face today? Do you ever reread the books or do the hobbies you did as a kid? What are your favorites?

Do you have favorite toys and books from childhood that can bring a smile to your face today? Do you ever reread the books or do the hobbies you did as a kid? What are your favorites?

Kate Elliott is the former editor of Gather magazine. This blog first ran on July 15, 2013. 

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Photo by Joe Hall | CC BY 2.0

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Women of the ELCA
25 Jan
Women of the ELCA
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While every person's grief experience is unique, what unites us is a need to express our emotions. Today's blogger tells us how using art as an outlet helps us pour out those feelings. #grief #creativity ow.ly/SwOe50Dhi8N pic.twitter.com/x0sWHypyZf

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