Childhood memories - mine and theirs

I was a child of the 80s. I entered high school in 1988 and tried to keep up with the cool kids with my banana clips, tight rolled jeans, slouch socks, and permed hair. If I could do it all over again, I would skip all of those, but I would never give up the coolest thing of my teen years, my Caboodle. 

I wish I could remember exactly when I got it or who I got it from. I can't remember if it was a gift from someone, something I bought with my babysitting money, or something I whined so much that my mom finally broke down and got for me on one of our weekly shopping trips. 

To the best of my knowledge, none of my other friends had one. My sister didn't have one either. If they only knew how cool it was, I bet they would have wanted one too.

My cousins recognized the coolness level of the Caboodle. They were under the age of 8, but they still knew cool when the saw it.

I babysat my cousins many times during my teen years. Whenever I did that, I usually spent the whole weekend with them and I would bring my Caboodle with me full of make up and hair supplies. We loved to play with all of the goodies the Caboodle held inside. Over the years, in the stories of my babysitting adventures with them, the pink Caboodle was mentioned one way or another.

Fast forward, 30 years and I still have my Caboodle. Rather than using it to carry hair supplies and makeup, I use it to carry art and craft supplies for the kids I babysit for. In late January, I dropped it as I carried it home from the most recent babysitting adventure, and the inside trays broke apart from the base. 

I was crushed, so I reached out to my cousins for moral support. Their reply text messages reflected my own pain over the loss of our dear friend, the pink Caboodle.

Unknown to me, one of them got online that night and found a pink Caboodle for sale on Etsy. They surprised me with it for my 43rd birthday and it felt like they had given me the moon. I was so excited and am still excited. 

In another year or so, these same cousins' children will be old enough to enjoy the treasures of the pink Caboodle. It is kind of like Mary Poppins carpet bag, full of wonderful treasures and happy memories.