Jampaloo's Julia

There is a special young man in our family's life whose family moved to the east coast just before Jampaloo was born. He, his twin sister and two younger brothers grew up with parents very involved in Waldorf education. When he and his sister were little, they each received a special doll and those dolls were both named Julia.

The Julias were so well loved they even needed passports and a going away party to be shipped over to Germany to get new hair from the lady who made them.

As I got to know this lovely family, I enjoyed so much the tales of the Julias and spending time holding the one that was the most loved of all, the one belonging to the boy who became our godson. That particular Julia doll had been loved up so much, it seemed like the story of the Velveteen Rabbit - this doll seemed real.

Well, that special young man gave me a big surprise when they came over to say goodbye just before they moved. He made Jampaloo his very own Julia. He copied the style and details of his own special doll, and used one of his tie-dyes shirts as the clothes. What I love most is that Jampaloo's Julia has the same somewhat floppy, really loved feeling that the "original" does. This doll just radiates the love and care he put into making her.

Now that Jampaloo is SIX months old, and getting more engaged with using those little hands to hold and grab and play, I am not surprised that he often carries Julia and holds her little arm - I wonder how long it will be before she will need a passport to fly off to the boy who made her for some new hair?