Collecting a ‘room with a thousand eyes’?

Memories can be a springboard for varying conversations on a similar subject. Recently, the talk about dolls came up and someone mentioned that his grandchildren were at times wary of going into a room they called “the room with a thousand eyes.” That certainly caught my attention!

Seems that his wife and a friend were really into doll collections, including the famous Madame Alexander dolls along with a huge amount of other interesting dolls. An entire room was dedicated to them. Can you imagine how overwhelmed some little children could feel peeking into a “room with a thousand eyes”?

To be fair, I know of a few people with dedicated collection rooms. The late Phil Irwin had an enormous railroad system in his historic Caledonia Inn. Some fishermen have huge collections of fishing gear for assorted adventures in what seems to be an overwhelming array & happily so.

To return to the doll discussion, though. I saw on one of my Facebook shares, the trip a mom made with her daughter to a big doll store and remembered a doll of my own for which my mom had sewn many outfits. Glad to see that childhood pastime still exists.

Another doll adventure has been dollhouses, first for my daughters, when we made little furniture from pickle jar lids & thread spools along with animal crackers boxes modified into sofas for the tiny dolls. Later, I found an old Victorian dollhouse in an antique store for my late husband Tom’s granddaughters’ playtimes when visiting. Doll furniture was more readily available, making creative play even easier then.

I actually have a really nice dollhouse here at home now for visiting youngsters, play expanded to even a modified cardboard box neighbor dwelling and cardboard van for doll grocery trips to stores “miles away” for imagination. There’s now even a card game with conversation initiating ideas to enhance the adventurous play. How are we being a part of the all so important child’s play our children need for healthy development? My dollhouse is good for rainy or snowy indoors.

I know and applaud our local Child Care & Learning Center (CCLC) for the many healthy outdoor activities they provide for their youngsters and was happy to learn recently how much they have grown, providing these opportunities to even more little ones. Our Rappahannock world is indeed rich and filled with such an inviting and varied abundance for all to enjoy, no matter what the interest, including the ability of some to just enjoy the privacy they need above all, seemingly unique in today’s busy, complicated world.