Fun In A Box

When I was a kid, my cousins and I had in the toy room an ancient steamer trunk that was filled with tossed off dresses, scarves, hats, shoes, purses, necklaces, gloves, and other assorted and random articles of clothing from my mother, grandmother and aunts. There were even a few donations from my grandfather in there. Our dress up box looked exactly like this.


Now, I can't tell you what my grandma and my mom were thinking when they put this monolith in a room dedicated to our toys and imagination, but I can tell you that none of us ever lost a finger or suffocated climbing in and out of this thing. And we did climb in and out of it on a regular basis. I can also tell you that playing dress-up for hours on end with my cousins is my very favorite childhood memory. We would spend all day creating different outfits for each other, playing "house" and "school" and "store" in full regalia. We would eventually string up an old sheet on the front porch and drag all the adults out to the driveway to watch our costumed "plays."

I played dress-up when I was alone, too. I lived with my parents in my grandparents' house, so I had the advantage of having the toy room and all its treasures to myself most of the time. I vividly remember donning "gowns" and bedazzling myself in necklaces, bracelets, and a glittering gold scarf and spending the afternoon running around the yard pretending I was Maid Marion ala Robin Hood.


Giuliana's dress-up box is currently housed in an old picnic basket. I have plans to upgrade her collection of accoutrements to a larger trunk-style home eventually, but haven't found the right combination of steamer-trunk-without-the-threat-of-potential-dismemberment-and/or-death yet. And for now, it all fits nicely.

The other night Giuliana ran to her dress-up box and, all by herself, whipped up what I already know is going to be one of my very most treasured memories of her toddlerhood. We had finished dinner and she had cuddled up on the couch to watch a little pre-bath Max & Ruby. Max and his bossy big sister were playing "detective" and searching for clues to solve a mystery. They were decked out in trench-coats, hats and magnifying glasses. The moment the show ended Giuliana jumped up and raced to her dress-up box. She started throwing scarves and purses left and right out of her way until she dug up her own magnifying glass. Next she located one of her hats, a pair of sunglasses, and a scarf. She asked me to get out her coat, and I finally realized what she was doing. I handed her her tweed trench-style coat out of the closet and helped her put it on. She accessorized herself and then began running around the house looking for clues with her magnifying glass and trying to solve a "miss-ry!"

Sigh. (Sorry for the blurry picture, but I couldn't get her to stand still for more than 3 seconds.) I love this girl. And I love her childhood.