And the answer is this doll...
She is approaching 27 years old now!! And while her face could do with a little clean, she is perfectly in tact - tag still on, hair still plaited and all her bows still tied.
What makes a 4 year old respect a doll this much that she is still treasured 27 years later?
She represents a very important lesson in my life - honesty is the best policy.
My mother and I were shopping in Safeway one day - I remember it being a quiet time of day and I was wandering down the aisles slowly behind my mum.
I looked down on the floor and spotted something...
A nice crisp $50 note sitting there by its lonesome in the aisle. I snapped it up and ran to my mum "Mummy Mummy look what I found!!"
You could imagine the value of a 4 year old finding $50 in the early 80s...
Now this is where respect for my Mother comes in to this - she took me straight up to lost and found where we handed over the $50. We gave all my details, and I was told if it was unclaimed after 6 weeks it was all mine. I didn't even question handing over the money, I knew it was the right thing to do. But I remember mum telling me not to get my hopes up about getting the money back.
About a week later, we received a phone call - a lady who wanted to know the little girl who found her money - and was honest enough to hand it in. She wanted to thank me personally, and came round to our house - doll in hand.
She thanked me no end, and gave me this doll - and in turn taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life.
She didn't have to buy me anything, she didn't have to thank me - but she did - and I now have a story to teach my girls this lesson too.
The doll's tag reads "To A Special Friend" From Margaret, and has been looked after and treasured since that day.
So it wasn't a completely "random" act - but it was an act of kindness that I remember to this day... I wonder if she remembers the little 4 year old girl...
