Tessie Carlotta

This week my mom sent my Cabbage Patch Kid, Tessie Carlotta, to Kamryn. I got her for Christmas when I was in 2nd grade and she was, without a doubt, my favorite present that year.

It was the first year that Cabbage Patch Kids were really popular and stores were running out of them in record time. I am pretty sure I still believed in Santa Claus at the time so I wasn’t too concerned that I wouldn’t get one. Santa Claus was sure to deliver the one thing that I had asked for. That had to kind of suck for my mom since she did all the Christmas shopping.

I loved that doll. I learned how to change diapers on Tessie. My mom bought me a box of Pampers so I could change her, but the one thing that sucked was this was before the invention of the refastenable tabs. These were the old diapers with the plastic like covering on the outside that tore if you tried to unfasten them. I got Kamryn some diapers as well, and the very first thing she did was change Tessie because she still had on one of those 80’s diapers. Kamryn was disgusted that she hadn’t been changed in almost 30 years.

Tessie had been resting quietly in a garbage bag in my parent’s basement for at least the last 10 years. She kind of smelled like mildew so before my mom sent her out, she cleaned her. I’m not sure what she did, but I swear I can still detect a hint of baby powder that all Cabbage Patch Kids smelled like out of the box.

Tessie Carlotta was my pride and joy. She was my adopted little girl and I was pretty protective of her. I remember my mom telling someone that her name sounded like a stripper and I got all pissed off.

Kamryn has already taken her over as her own. With a fresh diaper on, Kamryn tucked her into her bed last night with a makeshift nightgown on.I had long lost the birth certificate that came with Tessie, but unbeknownst to me, you can order new birth certificates! My mom ordered a new one for Tessie and sent it along.