a nice article

(Mostly done with what I needed to do for today. They've turned off the AC to save money over the weekend so I think I'm gonna have to rethink long research-Fridays, at least on the really hot days).

Anyway. Doing a quick check of one of the Pony tumblrs I read after grading (this is Silver-Swirl, who formerly went by the name Princess Golden Light but recently moved her blog). There was an article linked there called How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Embrace My My Little Pony Obsession.

I don't know that mine QUITE rises to the level of an obsession....well, hm, yes, I have many, many of the blindbag figures and most of them live on my mantel around a "village" built of my collection of house-shaped teapots (and I have bought a few more house-shaped teapots, like the Cookie Shoppe one, SPECIFICALLY because they worked irresistibly well with the Ponies). And yes, I have something like a dozen ponies I have crocheted despite the fact that crochet hurts my hands a little.

And yes....I've bought a few of the old, original, closer-to-Bonnie-Zacherle's-concept G1 ponies.....and I have two more (hopefully soon) on the way to me. (And I keep saying, "I really need another unicorn....just one more unicorn to balance the herd out....but also I kind of want one of the boy ponies (the "Big Brothers") or one of the ornate merry-go-round ponies....)

But this line resonated with me:

"When I looked at Oakley Moose [a "friend" of the ponies - as you can guess, he's a moose], I felt the same delighted desire I’d felt as a kid, whenever I found a toy I wanted."

Yes.

That's it.

That's exactly it.

When I pick up my Bubbles and hold her in my hand - or when I gently stroke the hair on Heart Throb - it does take me back to that innocent, happy time of being a kid with a favorite toy. And while I don't have the impressive G1 collection that Ms. Cook has....well, I'm on the way there. And I admit - if I found a crummy, dirty, but basically intact pony in an antique or resale shop? I'd probably buy it and wash it up. Even if it was one I already had, if the price was good. If I could figure out how rehairing works I might even buy one of the "baity" ones and try to renovate it.

And, like her, I've always liked toys. I never, even in the days of trying to be a sophisticated teenager, totally gave up sewing stuffed animals or even sometimes making doll clothes.

And another thought - her comment about "hiding" her ponies, including hiding some behind the X-Box. That struck me. I'm not going to go so far (though some might) as wondering if there's a gendered aspect to it - where it's okay for a grown-up man to have a video game system, but it's less okay for a grown-up woman to have plastic ponies. If they're not spending the grocery money or going into massive debt, what's the harm? (And again, this is where I grind my teeth at the people who take the "failure to grow up" idea and extrapolate it even to people who are grown-up adults with heavy loads of responsibility, but because they like comic books or Barbies or something like that, they can't POSSIBLY be sufficiently mature, because grown-up adults are supposed to, I don't know, only rejoice in bass boats and earrings? Something like that?)

I know my own brother likes Legos a whole lot. I bought him a Lego store gift card for his birthday. (My sister-in-law got a Lehman's gift card, which apparently she really enjoyed: she has gotten into canning and things like that and Lehman's is a good go-to place for supplies).

But yeah. I admit my fondness for Ponies and some other toys (the Monster High dolls that stand and watch me while I sleep, and yeah, maybe that's just slightly creepy) is a little odd in some people's eyes. But the thing is - there is so little delight in adulthood, it seems. There are so many things, whether it's driving in a strange city to ask a bunch of strangers for money for a project you don't have 100% faith in yourself, or making a dentist appointment and going to it even though you hate having metal objects thrust in your mouth, or getting up at 4:30 am to make the time to work out because you know you are healthier when you do and you also know that afternoon meetings means it's unlikely you would work out when you got home, or recognizing that traffic and road construction are bad enough that going shopping "for fun" isn't an option while it goes on.....a lot of adulthood seems to be, as Marge Simpson once said in an offhand quote, "Giving up all the things that make you happy" and it does seem asking a bit much to ask someone who likes a certain line of toys to give that up to, simply because of their chronology.

But back to her article: one of the beautiful things? She finally "revealed" her obsession to her husband. He offered to make her shelves for her ponies - on the condition he could put a few of his Lego constructions on them as well! And he told her, when she said she had been afraid he'd be embarrassed of her pony obsession: "If this makes you happy, then I’m all for it. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.”

No request for an explanation, no attempt to belittle: simply an, "I can see this matters to you so it matters to me, too, then."

That makes me happy. That's the way we SHOULD be with the silly (or perhaps, not-so-silly) interests of our friends and relations. And all too often it doesn't work out that way - I know of someone who gave up quilting because her new husband couldn't see the point of it. And I know too many people who feel compelled to "hide" the supplies or objects they purchased, with money they had earned themselves (sometimes from doing the hobby they love). Again, if it's driving you into a debt, it's a problem, just like problem gambling or problem-shopping-for-clothes is. But if it's "disposable income" or "entertainment budget..." But again, all too often people (me) worry about feeling judged for their interests....

(Oh, the new ponies that are on their way? I found one of the First Tooth babies that I wanted - Bouncy, a yellow pony with a beachball symbol. And with her I bought Newborn Tappy because the baby and Newborn ponies from the G1 run are just that adorable. The seller was slow to send them out and I sent a message asking if maybe PayPal hung up (sometimes it does) and she apologized, no, it was issues on her end and she said she was putting in a little "bonus" so we'll see what that turns out to be...)