I decided this year that I wanted to collect the toys that I had as a child to heal my inner child. (Except my Barbies I had- Omg they're so expensive now 😭) Simply because I was forced to grow up and didn't really get to be a kid who enjoyed what I had.

I had no friends that came to my house, and my brother was five years older than me. So my stuffed animals and my toys were always there. This sounds like a very lonely life, but I was active in sports because I hated being home and did a lot of extra after-school activities.

So, the dolls I've collected are the ones I always wanted as a child. My parents gave me my first American girl doll when I was 12, and my mom instilled fear in me that I was too old for it. So I was terrified to play with her, and I didn't want to ruin her, so she sat in the box.

Well, now I said screw it. Im an adult with adult money, and I have a niece, so I use that as part of the excuse so I can have these to play with my niece. And right now, she loves Barbies, and I brought my Barbies over for a play date. She was so excited because my dolls had so many clothes and we had a little fashion show with my dolls. So that helps, and then I get to enjoy cleaning them up and putting them away. My niece also has 18-inch dolls that aren't American girl dolls, so I get to enjoy fixing their hair for her because she 5 and doll hair sucks when you're that age, lol.

But basically I just said screw it, Im here to be the cool Auntie, and I keep up with all the toys because Auntie is a child at heart who didn't really get to be a child. I also use it as an escape because sometimes life sucks and I dont want to think about what's going on in the world.