Tuesday, June 24, 2008

I Want to be Nancy Drew When I Grow Up

I've always been a BIG reader. My favorites when I was growing up were the Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew. I would have been the oldest girl Jessie, because she was super organized and a little bossy. I wanted to have a train car in my backyard and keep my milk in a cold stream. But not nearly as much as I wanted to be Nancy Drew. I still want to be Nancy Drew when I grow up.

I used to get Nancy Drew books for my birthday and Christmas. I read all the Nancy Drew books more than once, and I had over half of the original yellow-bound matte finish books. After I was out of high school they continued to come out with these original books in paperback form for a while. These are not the paperbacks they have out today. I bought those at Wal-Mart when they came out until they quit making them. After the wonderful invention of the internet and ebay, I was able to fill in the missing yellow-bound matte books, and now have a complete collection. See:

I have been re-reading them occasionally in between my grown-up books. Because I still want to be Nancy Drew when I grow up.

I learned how to be a loyal friend from Nancy. Do you know how few people you can really trust with a secret in this world? It's a shame! Nancy was always neat and tidy - just what the OCD personality falls in love with. She drove a blue car - my favorite color. You know, sometimes I still drive the speed limit just because I know Nancy wouldn't exceed the speed limit to chase the criminal. Nancy always had the right clothes. And to top it all off, I love a mystery! I still love to read mysteries. Christian fiction mysteries are the best, but some of them even have too much of an edge for me. If it's a little creepy or gruesome or has something really bad that happens to someone, I don't care how good the redemption is, I still can't get the bad picture out of my head. I'm still creeped out by the last book in Terri Blackstock's Cape Refuge series.

So I was thrilled when they came out with the Nancy Drew movie last year. I wanted to play Nancy Drew. If they had come out with the movie when I was in high school I could have. Because I'm one inch shorter than Emma Roberts and I used to be as little as she is. A very long time ago! And she wore such cute clothes!

Now the question on your mind might be, "Okay, so how old are you anyway?" Well, if you're game enough to go look at this post and do the math, you'll know the answer. Because no matter how old I am, I still want to be Nancy Drew when I grow up.

Encourage your children's dreams today. They might be with them for a very long time!

To see what others have to talk about today, go visit Lara over at The Lazy Organizer.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I used to read those books too.

Lora @ my blessed life said...

Oh, how I relate!!! I, too, still want to be Nancy Drew when I grow up! She is the absolute best! I first read them all (the original ones) in 5th grade and have re-read them many times. A few years ago I decided to start collecting the ones with the blue & white endpapers because I love the cover artwork on them. Now I've almost got the whole series for my children. (I'm also collecting The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins and Trixie Belden). I was so excited about the movie, too, even if it wasn't quite true to the *original* Nancy--whatever it takes to get the next generation addicted, right?:)

Lora @ my blessed life said...

P.S. If you like a good mystery, but not the gore (I hate the nasty gore) you might like The Cat Who...books by Lillian Jackson Braun. They are all murder mysteries, but very light-hearted with great characters. I have them all!

Mari said...

Oh, I loved those books too! I think I read them all - Nancy Drew and Boxcar children. I read some Hardy boys, Bobbsey Twins and Cherry Ames, student nurse books too. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Mrs. O said...

I have just begun my collection - yours is amazing. I read them thru my grade school years and moved on to Agatha Christie.

Stephanie Reed said...

Your bookshelves are so neat! I loved Trixie Belden, too. For Christian fiction mysteries, try Murder by Mushroom by Virginia Smith. Also two books by Christy Barritt--the newest is Suspicious Minds.

Rae said...

I loved the Boxcar Children, too! In fact I still do. And I love that my girl's are now reading them!!! I need to give Nancy Drew another go. Growing up I didn't enjoy the series. But I've got to say, I love all the qualities you listed about her...especially the OCD traits!

Richelle said...

Wow! That is a great collection!

The Happy Housewife said...

I loved Nancy Drew too, although not as much as you do! My daughter is now reading my books, it is really great!
Have you ever read the Cat Who series, they are mysteries, but very tame.
Toni
http://thehappyhousewife.com

frillsfluffandtrucks said...

Oh look at your collection! Wow! I'm 30 and I have a few of the yellow cover books from my mom's girlhood--I wish I had all of them!

~ Sarah

 
Designed by Blogs by Sneaky Momma