My childhood is disappearing!

Aw fuck. Another piece of my childhood is going far away. American girl announced that it's discontinuing Samantha Parkington and all of her accessories (in a ploy to make us all rush out and buy stuff).

Coincidentally, I was just telling my dad about how when my little cousin visited, we went to the American Girl store. This excited me to no end, because I was freaking OBSESSED with my Samantha doll when I was a kid. I asked for nothing but all things related to Samantha for every major gift-giving occasion. As a result, I didn't have many normal toys, but I did have a ton of shit for the doll, including a bed, wicker table/chair set, a school desk, and more outfits than I had for myself. I also had a ridiculously detailed knowledge of the Victorian era (also: Didn't the Victorian era end in 1901? Shouldn't the doll have been marketed under the Edwardian era? Or is it different for the states v the UK?).

My little cousin has a "modern" doll, which sort of annoys me because I feel that the historical dolls really teach more valuable information (because who else teaches a ten year old detailed lessons about 1904 child labor?) I also knew a great deal about the other time periods through the other dolls' books. But my cousin, who said that she liked the Kit doll, couldn't tell me what time period the doll lived in (the great depression, of course!). And I was all, SEE? IF SHE HAD A HISTORICAL DOLL SHE WOULD KNOW.


Sidenote: If I had ever been to an American Girl Store when I was 9, it would have BLOWN MY MIND. Seriously. I would be standing in the middle of all of the outfits and accessories, and there would be a small "pop!" And then you would see brains start running out of my ear.

Siiiiigh...I guess my future daughter will just have to settle for the accessories that I collected back in the day. Hopefully I can glue some of the broken ones back together...

Epiphany!

So I was thinking about Amelia Bedelia, as we all do from time to time. And then I realized!!! Amelia Bedelia falls on the autism spectrum! How could I have overlooked this?! She takes everything literally...figures of speech and metaphors are lost on her! Symptom of autism/aspergers!

Okay, this is a major pitfall of having a degree in Psychology (um, aside from unemployment and a lifetime of low pay, I mean. Don't get smart). You can't stop diagnosing. Fictional children's characters included. Realizing this ACTUALLY excited me. I really do belong in grad school, with the other nerds (but alas, grad school is reserved for those with trust funds. At least, the sole program that I got into was. Damn you, ivory tower!!!).

Remember the time Amelia Bedelia was supposed to trim the x-mas tree, so she cut the branches off instead of decorating it? And then she made a date cake by cutting up the calendar into the batter? Good times, Amelia. Good times.