1971

1971 was a good year. I was 6 years old. Life was easy. I had a new Barbie. She was Malibu Barbie and she came in a cute aqua swimsuit with sunglasses and a beach towel.
I had kinda forgotten about Malibu Barbie until late November 2002. I was shopping in Walmart and saw her on the shelf! WOW!! I burst into tears on the spot!! I was flooded with memories of playing with that Barbie! I loved Barbies as a little girl. I played with them every day! And....I was pregnant with my little girl, Olivia when I saw that Barbie in Walmart that day. I had to have her for Olivia. I held back. I didn't get her that day. I came home and told Brad about her and he encouraged me to go back and get her. So...I did. She was under the tree for Olivia on Christmas morning. Olivia was only 3 weeks old then. She was way too young to play with or appreciate Malibu Barbie. So, I put her up in the top of Olivia's closet. She has been there for over 6 years now. Every now and then Olivia will ask for her. I say...."no, she is special". She will wait a few months and ask again and I say..."no, she needs to stay in the box".
Last night, Olivia spied her again as we were getting ready for bed. Of course, she asked to have her. This time....I gave in. Olivia was thrilled!!! We made an agreement that Olivia would treat Malibu Barbie better than she treats all the other Barbie's in the playroom. Olivia slept with that Barbie last night. She took her to school today for show and tell. She wanted to show her class that she had a Barbie just like her Mama had in 1971 (she asked me the year all the way to school).
Malibu Barbie is special. She is even more special out of the box and the hands of my little girl...who will love her like I loved my dolls...only maybe she will be loved even more because she is like the one I had. Maybe that is what will make her different for Olivia. It doesn't matter about keeping her in a box. She needs to be used, played with, messed up and loved.