Odessa's Story: Continued (unidentified Disney Frozen Elsa by Mattel, redressed)

It was over the Christmas holiday, when Treesa was showing me off to her sisters, that I overheard from Treesa herself why she'd bought me. Basically she said that the 'juxtaposition' of a Frozen Elsa doll wearing a tropical print dress that almost perfectly matched the doll's eyes 'amused' her. I learned pretty quickly that Treesa likes 'specialized' words, as she calls them. And yes, Treesa was waiting for my tag color to go half price before she bought me.

Treesa's reasons for naming me Odessa should also give you an idea how Treesa's mind works. Because most people assume that Frozen is set in a fictionalized version of Norway, and because I'm wearing a summer dress, Treesa looked up who the summer deity is in Norse mythology. Apparently the name of the Norse god of summer is Od. So Treesa added Od to Elsa and got Odelsa. But Treesa didn't like the way that sounded. However Odessa was only one letter different, and Treesa knew that Odessa was the name of a foreign city. Treesa does sometimes make up names for her dolls, but she likes being able to use real words. Treesa also thought Odessa sounded pretty. So she named me Odessa.

Treesa's still trying to work on my hair. She said she's having trouble making sense of the different part lines. Treesa also said she's thinking about trying a 'Downey dunk' because she doesn't trust herself to do 'boil washes' anymore. She said the hair loses too much body when she tries to do boil washes.

I've met some of Treesa's other Frozen dolls. Elsa was very polite, and her sister Anna was ready to give me the cape off her back because she said I looked cold. Treesa was also worried about the same thing, but she couldn't find a jacket that looked good with my dress. Elsa and Anna's little brother Christian is adorable, and Sven the baby reindeer is very well-behaved. I know Treesa has at least one other Frozen doll, Christian's friend Nora. But I haven't met her yet. I've heard she's very shy.

Things have been going really well here at Treesa's house, and I'm very happy. I'll admit, after Treesa bought me and Halle told me how many other dolls Treesa had I was a little worried. I was worried how the other dolls would react to my damaged hand. The toys at the thrift store had felt sorry for me, because they thought that I wouldn't find a new owner. Now I had a new home, but I wasn't sure how Treesa's other dolls would treat me. Would they think they were better than me because I was damaged and they weren't? Or would seeing my damaged hand make them uncomfortable?

As it turned out Treesa has a number of other dolls with 'condition issues', as Suzanne calls them. Suzanne and her family have been with Treesa the longest, and Suzanne has some 'condition issues' herself, so she tries to help Treesa make sure that every doll in the collection feels welcome. Treesa also told me that if I'm really worried about making the other dolls uncomfortable with my damaged hand, she's found a seller on Etsy who makes gloves for various types of dolls, including modern 'Barbie' dolls. I didn't think gloves would work with a summer dress, but Treesa told me there was a time when it wasn't considered 'ladylike' for a woman to go out without gloves, and that a lot of vintage Barbie outfits came with gloves.

However, Treesa's other dolls have been so considerate and welcoming that I can't be sure if I need the gloves or not. I don't want to turn my damaged hand into an issue if none of the other dolls think it is. But I'm worried that seeing my hand might be making the other dolls uncomfortable, and that they just haven't said anything because they don't want to be rude. So I told Treesa that I'd think about the gloves, and let her know when I make a decision.

They say that a new year can be a time to start fresh, to make a new beginning. It certainly has been for me. I have a new home, new friends, and a new chance at life. I do realize just how close I came to being thrown away. My first owner, her parents, or the thrift store employees could all have decided that I was no longer worth anything with my damaged hand.  But luck was on my side, and I plan to make the most of this fresh start that the new year has given me.

Happy New Year to all, and to all a good night, Odessa

Elsa's Story: Chapter 5 (Disney Frozen Birthday Party Elsa by Mattel)

(This post will be a continuation of the previous post. I will be picking up where I left off, so you may want to read Chapter 4 to avoid confusion.)

The next time that Merida wanted Christian and Sven to join her and Nora for a game, Christian immediately said yes. However, when he and Sven came back from their 'playdate' Christian was frowning. "Christian, what's wrong?" I asked. Christian looked up at me and said, "Elsa, I don't think I like playing with Merida."

"Can you tell me why?" I asked. There was no judgment in my voice. I didn't want Christian to think that he had said something wrong. I only wanted to understand why he felt the way he did. Christian struggled a little as he tried to put his feelings into words. "When me and Sven play, just us, nobody wins or loses," Christian said. "We just have fun. But when me and Sven played with Merida and Nora, Merida always had to win." Christian's face took on a sour look and he added, "And she said Elsie's dress was stupid." Sven snorted, as if to emphasize Christian's words.

I could easily understand why that last comment had upset Christian. Elsie had been one of his closest friends. Saying Elsie's dress was stupid was, in Christian's mind, like insulting not just the dress but also Elsie herself. And Christian has always been very loyal to anyone he cares about. That anyone includes both other dolls and a certain plastic baby reindeer.

It also sounded to me that Merida was very competitive, and I knew that Christian was not. From what he had told me about Elsie and Annie, and based on what I knew about the dolls here that Christian sometimes spent time with, I was willing to bet that Christian had never met anyone as focused on winning as Merida was. Poor Christian probably had no idea how to deal with someone like Merida. I certainly wouldn't have known what to do if I'd been in his place, which made things rather awkward when Christian asked me, "Elsa, what do I do if Merida wants me and Sven to play with her again?"

I reached down and touched Christian's shoulder as I tried to organize my thoughts. "Maybe you should talk to her," I said. "Maybe she doesn't know that games can be just as fun if nobody wins." Then, in a sudden flash of inspiration, I said, "Why don't you try teaching Merida some games where there is no winner. Maybe when she sees how much fun you can all have just playing together, she won't worry so much about winning."

Christian took my advice, and he did manage to talk Merida into trying some new games. Merida is still rather competitive, and she still seems to prefer games where there's a clear winner. But little by little she's learning to consider, not just what will make her happy, but what will make the other dolls playing with her happy. When Christian, Sven and I first met Merida, she decided who she was going to play with and what they were going to play without asking her potential playmates how they felt about it. I think Nora was just too shy to stand up to Merida, and Christian was worried at first about hurting Merida's feelings. But eventually Christian's patience ran out and he ended up telling Merida that she wasn't being fair.

Merida was a little hurt by Christian's words, which made Christian feel guilty. But in the long run Christian sharing how he really felt seemed to do some good. Now Merida will actually ask another doll to play with her, giving them the opportunity to say no if they want to. She will also suggest what games to play, letting the other players ok her choice instead of choosing for them.

I said in a previous post that having Merida in the house brought some challenges. But Merida wasn't the last challenge we faced that year. Around the time that Christian was finally starting to work things out with Merida and Nora, a new challenge dropped into our laps. Let's just say that my family has grown, and that there were some growing pains along the way. But that's a story for another day.

Love From Elsa

Elsa's Story: Chapter 4 (Disney Frozen Birthday Party Elsa by Mattel)

I promised in my last post that I'd tell you more about little Merida. Christian and I first heard about Merida from Treesa. After what happened when Christian and Nora first met, I think Treesa didn't want to take any chances. I was reading to Christian and Sven from a book of French-Canadian fairy tales that Treesa had left out when Treesa came to see us. "Sorry to interrupt Elsa, but I need to talk to Christian," Treesa said.

I looked up from the page I was reading and glanced over at Christian, wondering what this was all about. Had Christian done something that Treesa thought was naughty? I really couldn't imagine Christian misbehaving. But I knew it must be something important if Treesa was getting involved.

Christian looked as confused as I felt. But he must've realized, like I had, that whatever Treesa had to say was important, because he got up from where he was sitting and walked over to Treesa without complaining. I noticed then that Treesa didn't look angry or annoyed, like I would've expected if she'd been there to correct Christian's behavior. Instead she seemed nervous, which confused me even more. Why would talking to Christian make her nervous? Treesa's sixth-scale child dolls might find Christian a little intimidating because of his larger size, but I could see no reason why a grown human like Treesa would be anxious around Christian. Treesa took a deep breath and said, "Christian, do you remember how, when I bought you and Sven, I also bought a little doll dress?"

Warning alarms began going off inside my head even before Christian's expression changed. Christian had already told me about that dress, and about the doll it had belonged to. Christian frowned at Treesa and said, "It's ELSIE'S dress."

"I know Christian," Treesa said. She looked even more worried than she had a moment ago. Then she said, "Christian, I bought a little girl doll at the thrift store yesterday. Her name's Merida, and she's the same size as you and Nora. She didn't come with any clothes except her boots, so she needed something to wear, and I didn't have anything else that would fit her. So I gave her Elsie's dress, just for now, until I can find her something else to wear. There's a seller on Etsy who makes clothes for the Petite Princess dolls, so I should be able to buy Merida something as soon as she finds something she likes. I just wanted you to know in case I'm not there when you meet Merida."

By the time Treesa got to the end of her speech she was racing through the words, as if she was trying to finish what she had to say before Christian could interrupt her. While I'd known Christian long enough to realize that he'd been upset by what Treesa had said, I wasn't sure if Treesa could recognize the signs the way I had. Christian didn't throw a temper tantrum. He's too well mannered for that. And he didn't cry, even though he looked as if he might've wanted to. He just stood there silently for a moment, as if he was trying to come to terms with what Treesa had told him. "Ok," Christian said in a small voice. Treesa seemed somewhat relieved and said, "If you want, I can introduce you and Elsa to Merida later."

"No thank you," Christian said a little too quickly. Afterwards he must've worried that he'd been rude, because he added, "Not right now. Elsa was reading a story."

"Ok Christian," Treesa said. "Whenever you're ready, just let me know." Treesa left then. I had closed the book while Treesa was speaking, and when she left I walked over to where Christian was standing. "Christian?" I said, resting my hand on his shoulder. Christian looked up at me, and the expression on his face broke my heart. I immediately gave him a hug. "Elsa, do you think I'll EVER see Elsie and Annie again?" Christian asked. At first I didn't know how to answer. I knew how much Christian missed his old friends, and I worried that it would break his heart if I told him that the odds were he'd never see them again. But I also knew that I couldn't make him any false promises. If I raised his hopes too much, it would only hurt worse when he realized the things he was hoping for weren't going to happen. "I don't know, Christian," I said finally.

Christian hugged me back even tighter, as if he was afraid I might disappear too. Sven came over and nosed Christian's side. Christian looked over at Sven, then up at me. "Elsa," Christian said, "could you finish reading the story? I want to hear what happens to Prince Philidor and Princess Irena."

"Of course," I said. I sat down and opened the book to where we'd left off. Christian sat close beside me, with Sven close beside him. I'm sure we would've made an interesting picture to any doll passing by who didn't already know us: me leaning over a book with an out of scale little boy doll and a plastic baby reindeer by my side. But we were a family, and I hoped we would stay that way for a very long time.

When Christian, Sven and I did meet Merida it wasn't Treesa who introduced us. It was Merida herself. She came careening into our lives one afternoon in early summer of last year. Christian, Sven and I had planned to do some cloud watching, and we were headed towards Treesa's bedroom window when an unfamiliar voice called, "Look out!"

I turned my head to see what was going on just as a small plastic ball sailed past me and bounced off one of Sven's antlers. Sven wasn't hurt, but all three of us were startled. Then a little girl doll I didn't know raced up to us. The first thing I noticed about her was her thick, curly red hair. The second thing I noticed was that she was holding a Barbie sized tennis racket.

"Sorry," the little girl doll said. "Nora missed the ball. She was supposed to hit it back." The little girl doll looked me over, then said, "I'm Merida. What's your name?"

"My name is Elsa," I said. "This is Christian, and this is Sven." I gestured towards each of them as I introduced them. Merida looked them over too, then she asked Christian, "Do you play sports?"

At first I don't think Christian knew how to react. Merida's arrival and her question were so unexpected. "I play ball with Sven sometimes," Christian blurted out in surprise.

"Great, now we can play in teams!" Merida said. Just then Nora caught up with Merida. However, when Nora saw me and my family she hung back. At the time Nora was still a little uncomfortable around Christian and Sven. It was when Nora came into view that I first noticed that the dress Merida wore was identical to Nora's.

Merida noticed that I was looking at something behind her and turned around. When she saw Nora, Merida said, "Nora, guess what. I met another doll our size and he has a pet cow that plays ball! Now all four of us can play together!"

I'd never seen Christian look so angry before. He gave Merida a stormy look and said, "Sven's NOT a COW, he's a REINDEER. And he's not a PET, he's my FRIEND."

Merida seemed stunned by Christian's reaction. "Sorry," Merida said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "Don't be mad. I never saw a reindeer before. I thought reindeers lived at the North Pole with Santa Claus."

Christian's expression was still a little sour, but he seemed to be thinking over what Merida had said. "Ok," Christian said, only slightly grudgingly. He seemed to have decided that he should at least give Merida a chance.

Merida smiled. "Great," she said. "Now we can play. Come on Nora," Merida called. "We need a racket for Christian." Merida was gone a moment later, leaving Nora to hurry after her.

For a moment Christian didn't move. He looked as if he was going over the last few minutes in his head, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then Christian looked over at me. "Elsa," he said, "do you think Merida would be sad if I didn't play with her?"

It was obvious from Christian's voice that he wanted to do the right thing, but that he wasn't sure what was 'the right thing' in this situation. To be honest, I wasn't sure what the right thing to do was either. I knew it was important that Christian give Merida a chance. On the other hand, I could understand why Christian might not want to play with Merida right this second. For one thing, Christian had promised to go cloud watching with me today, and Christian hated going back on his promises. For another thing, Merida hadn't actually asked Christian if he would like to play with her and Nora. She'd just assumed that Christian would go along with whatever she wanted.

Before I could say anything, Merida and Nora came back with an extra Barbie tennis racket. "Here," Merida said, holding the racket out to Christian. Christian looked at the racket hesitantly. Then he looked at Merida. "Would it be ok if me and Sven played with you and Nora later?" Christian asked. He quickly added, "I promised Elsa we'd go cloud watching."

"Oh...ok," Merida said. Christian must've heard the disappointment in Merida's voice, because his expression changed. It was obvious to me that Merida's reaction had made Christian feel guilty, so in an effort to raise everyone's spirits I asked Merida, "Would you and Nora like to go cloud watching with us?"

Nora still looked cautious, but there was something in her expression that made me think she might be interested. However, Merida didn't look at all enthusiastic. "I don't like cloud watching," she said. "You have to sit still the whole time. That's no fun." Merida turned then, and started walking away. "Come on Nora," she said. Nora didn't follow right away. Instead she took one last glance at me and my family before she turned and hurried after Merida. I wondered what Nora was thinking in that moment. Was she considering accepting my invitation, and if so what had changed her mind? Was she still too uncomfortable around Christian and Sven to stay? Or did she not want Merida to feel abandoned.

Merida never looked back to see if Nora was following her. It seemed to me that Merida just assumed that Nora would come, the same way she'd assumed that Christian would be willing to play with her and Nora, regardless of whether or not he already had plans for the afternoon. As Christian and I sat on the windowsill, picking out shapes in the clouds, I noticed that Christian seemed distracted and I wondered if he still felt guilty for not playing with Merida and Nora. Christian did, after all, know what it was like to have difficulty finding playmates. I can still remember the look in his eyes, not long after we first met, when he told me that Treesa's sixth-scale child dolls didn't often play with him and Sven.

(I'm going to have to stop here for the time being. There's more to the story, but Treesa gets nervous if the posts are too long. I'll post the rest just as soon as I can.
Love From Elsa)

Elsa's Story: Chapter 3 (Disney Frozen Birthday Party Elsa by Mattel)

My little brother Christian had a bit of a disappointment since I last posted. We were playing hide and seek again. I was hiding behind a bedpost, but was peeking out every now and then so I could check on Christian's progress. Christian was getting closer, and there was a very determined look on his freckled face. Sven followed close behind. Christian had already found him.

Christian was just passing the bureau, but he must've heard a noise because he stopped suddenly and turned his head. "Elsa?" he asked as he stared into the shadows between the bureau and the wall. Sven moved forward, poked his nose into the shadows and sniffed. I immediately went into 'big sister mode'. If there was someone, or something, hiding in the shadows I didn't want Christian and Sven to face it alone.

"Christian, wait!" I called as I left my hiding place and hurried over to join him and Sven. Christian turned when he heard my voice. "Elsa?" he asked when he saw me. "But if you were over there, who's over here?"

I reached Christian's side and tried to peer into the shadows. I had to stare over the top of Sven's head, since he was still trying to shove his nose into the gap between the bureau and the wall. I was worried that Sven would get stuck, and was about to try and coax him back when I heard a faint whimper coming from the shadows. Whoever had made the noise sounded frightened, and that had me worried. I knew the most common reactions to fear are running away or lashing out. And being the protective big sister I am, I was worried that whoever was in the shadows would feel threatened and end up hurting Sven or Christian. So I tried to calm down whoever it was.

"It's alright, we won't hurt you," I said in a reassuring tone. Then I rested my hand on Sven's neck. "Sven, come on now, get out of there," I said. Sven took one more sniff before letting me direct him away from the gap. I kept my hand on Sven's neck, to hold him back if necessary and said, "You can come out now, it's alright."

Slowly, a little girl doll stepped out of the shadows. Her blond hair was arranged in a single braid, and her eyes were wide with apprehension. Her dress was teal and lilac with sheer sleeves, and the skirt was covered with netting and glitter. She reminded me a little of Christian, in terms of height and scale. 

The moment Christian saw her, her rushed forward. "Elsie!" Christian shouted as he threw his arms around her and hugged her. When Christian let go, words started tumbling out of his mouth. "You got your dress back. Treesa saved it. Is Annie here too?"

The little girl doll took one look at Christian, her eyes still wide, and burst into tears. Dolls can't shed actual tears, but they can cry. And this little girl doll was wailing. I moved away from Sven and hurried over. "It's alright. It's ok," I said, trying to comfort her. Christian looked hurt. "What's wrong?" he asked. The little girl doll's chin quivered as she said, "You were mean to me and Little Anna before! You pulled our braids and said we had girl cooties! And Little Sven chased us all the time! Just go away!"

At first Christian didn't understand. I guessed what had happened before the little girl doll even stopped talking, but only because I knew Christian and Sven well enough to know they would never hurt anyone. Christian is too well mannered to even think about pulling another doll's hair. And while Sven can be overly playful at times, he would never deliberately scare anyone.

I turned to Christian, to explain to him what I thought had happened. But then I saw his expression change when he realized the truth. "You're not Elsie," he said, his voice heavy with disappointment. "You just look like her."

Just then Treesa appeared. "Nora, what are you doing over here?" Treesa asked. The little girl doll, Nora, sniffled and said, "I got lost." Treesa leaned towards Nora, then she noticed me and Christian and Sven. "I see you met Elsa's family," Treesa said. She sounded a little nervous. I think she was worried how Nora and Christian would react to seeing each other for the first time. From what I had already seen and heard, it was something that Treesa had good reason to be concerned about.

Nora quickly confirmed Treesa's fears. "You never said Little Kristoff was here!" Nora said. "You said dolls here are nice!" Treesa knelt down on the bedroom carpet, most likely so she would be closer to Nora's eye level. The Treesa said, "Nora, I know this is hard to understand, but Christian isn't the Little Kristoff doll you knew before. When factories make dolls, they make a lot of the same doll, so that lots of people can have one. There are a lot of dolls that look like Little Kristoff, but not all of them are mean."

Nora still seemed nervous, so Treesa tried to reassure her again. "This is Christian," Treesa said, gesturing in Christian's direction. "He was called Kris at his old home. And this is his big sister Elsa. Elsa, Christian, this is Elsinore. I call her Nora for short. Her first owner called her Little Elsa."

I took a small step closer and said, "It's nice to meet you Nora." Nora still seemed a little afraid, but she didn't back away. Treesa turned to Christian. "Aren't you going to say hello, Christian?" Treesa asked. I don't think Christian had gotten over his disappointment yet, but he politely said, "Hello." Then he said, "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Scared her?" Treesa asked, understandably confused.

"Christian thought that Nora was his old friend Elsie." I explained. Treesa quickly apologized. "I'm sorry Christian," she said. "I was going to tell you and Elsa that Nora was here. But I just got her and I didn't expect her to wander off."

Nora looked like she might start crying again. "I'm sorry!" she said. Treesa noticed how upset Nora was and said, "It's ok Nora. It's not your fault. I'm not mad at you." Treesa gave Nora a reassuring smile, then said, "I know, how about I take you to meet some of my other Disney doll families. Would you like that? I'll be with you the whole time if you get scared." Nora sniffled again, then nodded. Treesa reached down and gently picked her up. Then Treesa carried Nora to another part of the room.

Christian and Sven and I didn't see much of Nora after that. At least, not until Petite Merida came. But that's a story for another day. This post has been in draft form for too long already, because it was so emotionally difficult to write. I kept seeing Nora's scared little face in my mind, or remembering how Christian felt when he realized that Nora wasn't Elsie. But these things have a way of working themselves out, one way or another. And while Nora and Christian still act uncertain around each other, things have gotten better. Having Merida in the house brought its' own challenges, but I'll save that story for another post. Until then, I wish you the best.

Love From Elsa