Just a Toy

It’s funny how much joy it brought to me to see Rachael running to me with an old favorite toy. She came to me to show me one of her favorite toys from when she was learning to crawl until walking. And for a 17 month old, any toy that makes the favorite list for a good 5 months is a big deal – that’s a good part of her life. This little toy sings a rhyming song about the animal that is face-up on the cube. It’s a completely fabric cube toy so it’s little baby-teething safe. Rachael loved it so much that Matt and I have the rhyming songs for each of the 6 sides memorized. We could practically sing them in our sleep.

But what means more to me than the cube is the memory of the smiles and animation that toy brought out of little Rachael. It was that same animation and excitement the small toddler had as she ran to me with the toy.

I remember that specific cube toy going on a trip with me to Dallas. I was nannying for a three year old and a 9 month old on their vacation. I had those same songs memorized since the cube was one of a handful of toys we had with us for a week. And when the news spread of my pregnancy with Rachael, the hand-me-down cube toy found it’s way to our home. How funny to think of the now 8 or so year old (once 3 y/o) and her younger brother who is 5 (once 9 months) – and since then there’s been another brother added to the family. It was just funny how Rachael running across the room to me with utter joy flashed all the memories through my mind at once. And now our little Abi will get the blessing of playing with the same cube of memories.