Genealogical Artifact

Being a child means playing and having fun.  That's certainly what my childhood was like - playing and having lots of fun.  When I was born, I had two brothers; one was seven and the other was five.  As I grew up, I always loved following them around and "playing with the boys."  I'd even have crushes on all of their friends.  But because I had brothers and no sisters at the time, I became the girl that still resides in me today - a tom-boy some days and a total girly-girl others.  I loved sports and playing in the mud, but I sure loved mom dressing me up pretty, doing my hair, and making crafts.  Crafts are where I'd like to begin my story.  When I was about five years old, mommy bought me a stuffed animal moose.  My moose was so cute with her big nose and tiny, little body.  The only problem was the poor girl didn't have any clothes on!  Well I remember, one day, grandma coming to visit, and boy, did I love to do crafts with her.  In pure excitement, I showed grandma my new favorite stuffed animal.  I even told her how I named her Cinnamon.  Looking back, I don't know why I chose Cinnamon to be her name, but it's a name that has lasted for nearly seventeen years.  I got the biggest little-kid grin on my face when grandma said my little moose needed a dress.  If I knew grandma, I knew she knew just how to make a dress.  She had made me dresses tons of times!  And I was sure a moose would be no different.  I looked through all of mom's fabric until I found the perfect material.  Then grandma sat me down on the chair next to her, got her sewing kit, and led me through making the dress.  That was the first thing I had ever sewn in my life, and I was definitely a proud little girl because of it.  This is one of my very first memories, and one that has certainly made an impact on my life.  Ever since that night, I have collected as many "moosies" as I can find.  Anyone who knows me knows a stuffed moose is the perfect birthday or Christmas present for me.  And, starting with Cinnamon, I have named all of my moosies after food-related items.  Collecting these has morphed into something that is so much a part of me that I had to bring a bunch to college.  Four years into school, I still have eighteen moosies lined up on my bed that I sleep with every night.  It might not make sense, but it's important to me.  Cinnamon changed my life in a funny way.  She is just a stuffed animal, but she began a tradition.  Her and that little dress are so important to me that I left her home so she wouldn't get ruined.  But I have many at school that help me feel right at home, like that night seventeen years ago.

For my genealogical artifact narrative, I wanted to be able to tell my life story through something that is very important to me.  I have many objects in my life that have been significant to me, but my stuffed animals tell about my childhood and the growth I have undergone.  These stuffed animals are more than objects; they represent who I am and why I am who I am.

In Pablo Neruda's "Ode to Things," he speaks about so many things that most people take for granted.  He talks about how much he loves the little things in life, like scissors, thimbles, and plates.  I love this because he draws attention to things that people do not usually put high significance on.  I wanted to draw similar conclusions; that something so trivial can mean the world to someone else.  Most people would probably look at my moose collection as crazy, weird, or just be indifferent to it.  But to me, that collection means love, family, adventure, childhood, growth, and so much more.

I shared my narrative with one of my brothers; he very well knows what these stuffed animals mean to me, and he also has added greatly to my collection.  After talking with him, it was amazing the memories my words sparked.  I thought it was very interesting that this conjured up memories that I had not even thought of.  Talking with him was a great testament to the purpose of this assignment, to reflect on life, recreate memories, and form new ones.

My brother very much liked the idea of writing my narrative in a young point of view to bring the reader into my perspective of the event.  He felt this was a useful and playful way to communicate the message of youthfulness and growth.  I purposefully strayed from using larger words that children would not know, and instead used words that children say all of the time, like little, mommy, and tons.  I also purposefully referred to my mom and my grandma as "mommy" and "grandma" instead of "my mom" and "my grandma" to bring the reader more into the story.  I wanted to remove having them specifically belong to me so that the reader could feel more a part of the situation.  Another tactic I used to recreate my life, childhood, and growth, was to call them "moosies" and not just stuffed animals.  I have forever called them "moosies," and I wanted to stay genuine to my personality.  I never liked calling them the correct plural term "moose," as a child, so I put my own style to the word.

Ultimately, I wanted the reader to feel a part of my life and experience a snippet of what I have experienced, and continue to experience.  I want people to understand that it is the smaller, simpler, and seemingly more insignificant objects and things in life that are the most important.