Patty cake, patty cake, baker’s mam;
Bake Me a Cake As fast As You Can.
Roll it…. & Roll it, and mark it with a K,
Put it in the oven for Kristin & Me.
A rhyme all children grow to love over time, Patty Cake (or Pat-A-Cake) has been around for centuries. Kids change it up to be exactly how they want it, but the idea stays the same. Let’s be honest, it’s all about the cake.
My grandmother loved to make dolls. Each one was hand stitched with a special heart put inside of it. She added her name to the back so there was no question who made the doll and what loving hands were passing it off.
In 1986 my grandmother made me my very first doll. Since I was around a year old the doll was about to go through a lot of abuse. Knowing that, she crafted it to be toddler proof. The hair was crazy, but perfect to be carried around by, the eyes were stitched in so no pieces were eaten & the doll in general was washable.
It is safe to say Patty Cake went through her abuse by toddler.
My grandmother passed away when I was four years old. She left behind a number of dolls passed around to many friends and family. Patty Cake will always be my favorite. She’s been there through good times & bad times. She will forever be toddler proof, but there are days where she shows her age.
When my grandfather entered hospice in 2008, Patty Cake came out from the pile of stuffed animals on my bed. I had already graduated college and was living on my own, but something about the comfort of a doll I had loved over the years gave me peace. Each week as I traveled from Indiana to Ohio Patty Cake road along with me. The weekend that my grandfather passed away, Patty Cake was in the room.
Somewhere along the line a few friends told me she was looking a little bit creepy. Her eyes were worn down to two strings, her mouth was long gone & her arms were discolored from many years of being tossed around. I reached out to my aunt who took over my grandma’s sewing & she was able to give Patty Cake just the treatment she needed. 
Patty Cake came back cleaned up & refreshed. My aunt had restitched her eyes, nose & mouth. She also cleaned up my grandmother’s signature on the back. She was officially ready for another round of trouble with a new toddler.
For now Patty Cake sits among the piles of stuffed animals that belong to my little man. She comes out to play every so often, but for the most part just hangs out in the background.
To some she might be a little creepy, to me she shows years of love, wear and tear.
If you didn’t catch my first post, Rebecca from The Housewife Memoirs & I have challenged each other to keep up with a writing prompt from 1,000 Awesome Writing Prompts
This week’s prompt was:
Describe an important item from your childhood. Why was it important and where is it now?