When I was a little girl, I loved Holly Hobbie. My mom has a cassette tape recording of me opening my birthday presents for my 3rd birthday, May 9th, 1978. On the tape I loudly exclaim “HOBBIE HOBBIE!” after opening one of the little doll playsets, clearly my favorite gift that year- (a much bigger hit than the spiderman sunglasses if you go by my subdued reaction to them!) Holly Hobbie was a gentle, simple toy and it fit with my style even then in the late 70’s. There were the dolls and playsets of course but also lunch boxes (which I had!) and plates and this mug which I found a year ago at a thrift store. I snatched it up for 50 cents and gave it to my beloved friend, Katie, who at that time was struggling with aggressive, relapsing leukemia. She and I agreed on 99.9 percent of everything -politics, food, parenting- and although she was a few years younger than I, she also loved Holly Hobbie, of course! I think we both appreciated not only the sweet watercolor gingham graphics on the books and other products but the messages seem so quaint and loving; something I feel you rarely hear on toys anymore. I saw a plate in a thrift store recently with the little bonnet headed girl picking wildflowers and it said, simply, “Start each day in a happy way!” Another says, “Nothing lasts longer than a happy memory!” Or “Happy is the home that welcomes a friend!” Holly Hobbie dolls were just little old fashioned girls and I don’t think they would be as popular these days–would their messages be deemed “empowering” enough?
Katie died on June 6th after spending far too much of the past year and a half in the hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. One of the smaller, seemingly inconsequential frustrations of being in the hospital so often was that she had a hard time keeping her space pleasant and organized, 2 things that were important to her. I gave her this mug so she could keep her pens and markers neat and nearby on the table next to her hospital bed because she liked to write notes and cards as well as draw and color with her 2 precious little boys, Seamus and Lucius, when they came to visit her. Katie always put those boys first even at the end of her life.
The sweet message on the mug is: “Happiness is having someone to care for…’
Indeed.
I hope Katie knew it was my privilege to care for her when she needed me just as she cared for me at so many other times.