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March 10 – Truth Be Told

March 10, 2019 by Kali 6 Comments

by Sara Etgen-Baker

Barbie Doll

I frequently watched Mickey Mouse Club and imagined dancing on stage alongside Annette Funicello and growing up to become a beautiful star like her - that was until I saw my first Barbie commercial. From that moment on, Barbie became the girl whom I wanted to emulate. She had it all; a shapely figure, beautiful clothes, independence, AND a Dream House.

“Barbie, beautiful Barbie,” I sang along during the commercial, “…
Someday I’m gonna be exactly like you.”

I became consumed with having my own Barbie and her Dream House, often pleading my case with Mother.  “Mom, Barbie’s amazing! She’s beautiful, independent, and even has her own house. May I have her, please?”

“No!” Mother said firmly. “Barbie’s too expensive. ”

“But, Mom…”

“No buts! There’ll be no more discussion.”Barbie Dream House

Pressing the issue any further with Mother was futile; yet, I couldn’t get Barbie out of my head! My best course of action was saving my allowance to buy Barbie. Barbie was expensive, though. She cost $5, and her Dream House cost an additional $8; a lot of money for a girl who received only a nickel allowance each week. Saving my meager allowance took too long, and I grew impatient. What would Barbie do? I asked myself. She’d raise some money, of course! I set out to raise the $13 I needed to buy Barbie and her dream house.

The only skill I had was ironing clothes. So, I ironed clothes for the neighborhood women, ironing their blouses for a nickel; pants for a dime; and dresses for a quarter. I liked ironing clothes in their living rooms and watching Soaps with them, but the novelty of my entrepreneurial enterprise quickly wore off. Ironing clothes became a painstaking way of earning cash.

One day a neighbor lady handed me a dime, “Love, go buy me a soda. And here are two empty bottles to return. You may keep the 4 cents you get for them.”  I scurried down the street, ecstatic in discovering an additional source of income. I scrounged the neighborhood for empty pop bottles and redeemed them for cash, getting 2 cents for each 6.5-ounce soda bottle and 5 cents for each empty quart bottle. Weekdays I earned roughly 50 cents in returned bottles.

Piggy BankWeekends were more fruitful, and I typically netted $1-$2 by collecting and redeeming pop bottles tossed onto the ground at the nearby park. I deposited those coins into my piggy bank along with my ironing money. When I had $13, I purchased Barbie and her Dream House and took them home

Truth be told I didn’t enjoy playing with Barbie and her Dream House as much as I’d imagined. I actually got more pleasure from ironing clothes; collecting and redeeming pop bottles and saving money. Still, Barbie influenced me. She was my 12-inch life coach who unwittingly taught me to embrace my desires; to set a goal based on those desires; to work towards accomplishing that goal, and to relish achieving it.

Author Age 10

The Author at Age 10

A teacher’s unexpected whisper, “You’ve got writing talent,” ignited Sara’s writing desire. Sara ignored that whisper and pursued a different career but eventually, she re-discovered her inner writer and began writing. Her manuscripts have been published in anthologies and magazines including Chicken Soup for the Soul, Guideposts, Times They Were A Changing, and Wisdom Has a Voice.

Kalí Rourke is a full-time philanthropist and volunteer in the Austin, Texas area and has lent her writing, public speaking, and social media skills to many local nonprofits, including Story Circle Network. She is a wife, mom, "Gigi" to her awesome grandkids, a professional singer, and an advocate for mentoring in all of its forms. 

Filed Under: Sara Etgen-Baker, True Words from Real Women Tagged With: Barbie, Dream House, family, inspiration, memories, Women's Stories

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bettymccreary7347 says

    March 10, 2019 at 4:41 pm

    I really enjoyed reading this! It brought back a lot of old memories. I had a Barbie and the dreamhouse and Ken of course. I also collected pop bottles to redeem for cash. We found that construction sites usually had a lot of discarded soda bottles. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • sara etgen-baker says

      March 11, 2019 at 2:59 pm

      thanks, Betty, for sharing your story about earning case. I hadn’t thought of a construction site. Good idea.

      Reply
  2. V.J. Knutson says

    March 10, 2019 at 5:51 pm

    Great story! My son wanted a skateboard, but as a single mother of three, I had no extra income, so he did what you did – scouted the neighbourhood for work. Best lesson he ever learned.

    Reply
  3. sara etgen-baker says

    March 11, 2019 at 3:00 pm

    Thanks, V.J., for sharing your thoughts. I agree. Having to earn money at an early age is a great life lesson

    Reply
  4. arielazucker says

    March 12, 2019 at 8:57 am

    Hey Sara,
    I love your stories and this one is no different.
    It is fun to read and so meaningful.
    Thank you for a life lesson

    Reply
  5. sara etgen-baker says

    March 12, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    Thanks, Ariel, for your kind words. Glad to know that you love my stories. I love writing them and, more importantly, sharing them. There always seems to be life lessons learned in even the smallest moments. Warm wishes!

    Reply

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