A mom or not a mom?

[shuffar]

That is the question!
Are many of you out there in AG Hostboard land moms with daughters that love AG? Are you just a 'kid' (aka target audience - no ages needed)? Are you a 'kid' that grew up with AG and are still collecting even though you don't have any little girls (either you're not old enough or you've been blessed with boys)?

I love hearing about collectors.

I'm a kid that grew up with AG. I've yet to start a family, though with my Oct wedding it'll only be a few years before it starts. I'm so excited for when I have my own daughter, so we can share these amazing dolls. I just worry that the strong Y chromosome in my FH's family with keep holding strong and we'll only have little boys. Little boys who will ruin my precious Molly and Kit! My true nightmare!

And some of you have really inspired me. I look forward to a time when my daughter and I (or perhaps just me, if the opportunity pops up sooner) can bestow an AG doll on a little girl that would truly love her as much as I've loved mine. The miracle of Ebay has made this really possible with buying fixer upper dolls, whoever did that recently for their daughter's friend's birthday...that was really great, such a great memory for that little girl, as well as for you and your daughter!

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ June 28, 2005 02:58 PM: Message edited by: shuffar ]</font>

[likewow]

I'm 21, married with no kids and no plans for them ever (please don't let that get back to my in-laws, though [img]graemlins/shhh.gif[/img] ). I've been an AG fan since I was six. AG has kept my interest far longer than anything else. Maybe I just like being a lazy mom and having kids who only need to be changed every month or so or with the seasons.

<font color="#051E50"><font size="1">[ June 28, 2005 02:55 PM: Message edited by: likewow ]</font></font>

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ June 28, 2005 02:56 PM: Message edited by: likewow ]</font>

[shuffar]

I was just reading through one of the other posts, where the issue of ages and lurkers and child molesters came up.

I just wanted everyone to know that I'm not looking for specific ages or anything, especially from the "target audience' kids. Just a general idea...for some reason I've always been fascinated with consenuses. I love to find where I fit in the spectrum of different groups.

Man, that makes me sound weird and REALLY nerdy!

[GreyMyst]

I'm in my 20s, I have one kid, but he's a boy, so he really has no bearing on my collecting (besides figuring out places ot keep them AWAY from him). I got started in AG when I was about 7.

[amandajg]

I'm a 20 year old who grew up with AG (I got my first doll, Kirsten, at age 7) and I still love them as much as I ever did! I think I am definitely a lifetime collector. I admit I do have my hopes set on having a girl someday so I can share my love of AG's with her... but regardless I think I will always love AGs and I will make sure that my collection is never far from where I am!

[vew-tori]

I'm a 45 year old with a 7 year old daughter. We got into AG when she was 2 1/2 with Bitty. Last summer she got Molly. Now we have 5 18" AG's. It's a family thing now with DH having fun searching ebay too.

We were the ones who gave DD's friend the fixer upper. Her dad is really freaked out by "Christina." She keeps scaring him - LOL.

I hope our collection continues and we don't tire of it. I have so many previous collections packed away. I hope my DD grows up to be like so many of you on the board who either never left or have grown back into AG.

[Aussiemum]

<font color="royalblue">Im a 39yr old with 4 kids NONE of who are into American Girl Dolls, so im on my own !! Mind you my 3 yr old son sat with me andplayed with the dolls and my outdoor table/chairs and food items i won off ebay last week !!! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

I only "found" american girl about 2 years ago when i saw a friends daughters Samantha and i immediately fell in love with her...(the doll, NOT the daughter !! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] )

My 8 yr old does have Samantha and Nellie, but Im the one who dresses them, and takes care of them ... [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

<u>YES IM AN ADDICTED "AMERICAN GIRL" AUSSIE AND PROUD OF IT !! [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]wink.gif[/img] </u></font>

[linzystar]

I'm 20. I got my first AG when I was 11, so I guess you could say I grew up with AG, but I feel like I never really grew up (looking in my room, you'd probably think it was a kid's room) [img]graemlins/rainbow.gif[/img]

[rolloverrover]

43, married, two sons ages 11 and 14 (15 on July 12!).

This is definitely a hobby that's just for me, but the boys (and husband) notice outfit changes, and I sometimes will get a, "What's this one's name again."

All three are respectful of my dolls and this hobby of mine; that's important to me.

I forgot to add: I used to receive American Girl catalogs all the time in the late eighties and very early nineties. I always wondered why I was receiving them. One day I must have paid attention because right away I was taken with Felicity. Every so often another catalog would arrive and I would always check out Felicity and her collection.
Even when my nieces (who are now 13 and 17) got Kirsten and Felicity when they were much younger, and my family used to buy them additions to their collections, I still didn't think about purchasing anything for myself.
I think I was off the catalog radar for quite a while, but then about two years ago I started receiving the catalogs again. I started to think about getting Felicity. Then, last year, in September, I decided to treat myself to Felicity. Little did I realize my longing for one doll would escalate into a full-blown obsession (checking the AG website daily, checking eBay for AG finds, awaiting catalogs, poring over catalogs, thinking about AG dolls and accessories more than frequently, and now anticipating a visit to an AGP). The anticipation of arriving AG boxes is so much fun!! It can really brighten an otherwise humdrum day, or be the icing on the cake to an already lovely day!
The one thing that I know that feeds my obsession is this board!! It's fantastic to have so many like-minded AG obsessed women (and token guy, Taffy) to commiserate with.

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ June 28, 2005 10:49 PM: Message edited by: AGNan ]</font>

[Sakurako]

I'm 58 and grew up with Mary Hoyer (one of the composition version of AG dolls back in the 1950's). Perpetually single and I also enjoy being able to stop playing with my "girls" if I come home from work tired out. I've been collecting AGs seriously since 1992 but my first Kirsten from 1987 still lives with me.

My mother finally told me, when we went to AGPNY together last month, one reason why she doesn't like my collecting AGs. She feels guilty retroactive to my childhood because if American Girl had been around back then, she couldn't have afforded to give me a doll! But she did give me a Mary Hoyer doll and an 18 inch Revlon bride doll and made each of them beautiful wardrobes. And she taught me to sew by making dolls and their clothes with me. So for those of you who are enjoying or anticipating sharing your AGs with your daughter(s), remember that it's the quality of the time you share that's important. I have no regrets to match my mother's feeling sad about what could never have been. She loved me and made sure that I had the very best that her imagination and creativity could provide. That's what I treasure more than my AGs -- and probably that's why I enjoy playing with them so much!