A favorite childhood memory is when we’d go to my paternal grandparents’ house and open the “play closet.” The old nostalgic toys our daddy used to play with when he was a boy were well preserved and were my sisters and my delight!
There were Lincoln Logs, building blocks, books, and Tinker Toys! But my favorite was the life-sized stuffed penguins (well, life-sized to a four-year-old).
My sisters and I have loved penguins ever since. I realize we don’t hold the copyright for a love for penguins, as I’ve seen many friends love them too.
A few years ago, my sister gave me the stuffed penguin of Daddy’s that I didn’t know still existed. I had been searching online for years for one, just like it! I cleaned it up and gave it a facial, and I think it looks as good as new! Only… it’s old.
So old, my sons and grandarlins call it “creepy.”
I never thought of this 1940s toy as creepy because it meant so much to me. It was a sentimental piece of my childhood, but it was also a connection with my dad, who left this world way too soon.
I never dreamed there would be several penguin connections throughout my life, but they keep showing up.
My husband and I lead a special needs class at church, and he coaches with Special Olympics. So it was endearing to attend a play this year put on by the “Penguin Project.”
There is also a software company that Jason does business with called “Bold Penguin,” and they gave him a tee-shirt with their logo that he really liked, plus a nice pair of penguin socks. When I saw how much he delighted in “penguins,” I reminded him of my love for them and showed him some books I had.
This year, for Christmas, we didn’t know we were both on the same wavelength.
I got him a penguin pen holder for his desk and penguin paper clips, and he got me a not-so-creepy stuffed penguin.
We also can’t get enough of these little guys when we watch penguin videos on YouTube! If you are ever having a bad day, just go to YouTube and watch penguins!
We have dear friends who go to the 21C hotels and take a picture with penguin statues (that’s on my bucket list, Terry and Judi Little).
As Jason and I were watching videos again and talking about our penguin fetish, I remembered that my dad used to wear shirts from Munsingwear – they had a penguin logo! The company was eventually sold, and now it’s called Original Penguin. How fun! Of course, I found a couple of items for Jason’s birthday coming up. (
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)The Emperor Penguins are so majestic, yet hilarious! They are black and white but have a gradient orange-yellow coloring shining from their neck and fading onto their bellies. They also have orange on their beaks and where I would think their ears would be.
Jason and I both looked up where we could see live penguins and found Emperor Penguins ONLY live in Antarctica. The closest penguins to visit would be Blue Penguins in New Zealand.
Bucket list!