My family plus my nephew went to the release day for Luciana Vega at the American Girl boutique in Nashville. Ever since I heard about Luciana I was in love. We live near Huntsville, AL and we are very space oriented people. We love STEM. Then we heard Luciana's character goes to Space Camp in Huntsville. I knew it was meant to be. So Skylar and my 8 year old William, My husband and my nephew headed up to Nashville on the 1st. William has Autism and complex ADHD and there was no way he would be willing to wait in long lines. Skylar and my nephew immediately took off to the bathrooms (nothing else was open) and we had a long journey behind us. Yes I am an adult collector and yes my children love American Girl too. So yes I was excited this the first doll where I would break my personal rules about what I'd buy... Of course I am willing to share my love of dolls with anyone no matter the age. There was a lady two people up from me in line. She was bragging about being from Huntsville as well and how her husband worked for NASA. Her daughter asked me excitedly if I knew what an item in her hand was. It was the sparkly bracelet to a new dress. I recognized it. So I started chatting the child up about the bracelet and what dress it came with and what dolls she had. Her mother rudely cut her off and said you can't educate her she already knows a lot about dolls. My thought was lady I wasn't trying to educate your child or vice versa I was just chatting with an excited little girl waiting a long time in a long line especially since my own kids had abandoned me. LOL I got the vibe of unwelcome conversation from her so I started speaking to the woman in between us who said she wanted to collect the Girl of the Year dolls from 2009. I asked her if she also lived in Huntsville and told them about a friend with the 2009 dolls and more. The NASA wife intruded on the conversation and said what does that lady do just buy to resell in a very snobby tone. She said does she even have kids? I said yes she has a daughter and she has her own dolls. Then she kept asking questions about this friends spending habits. I said I had no idea her intentions on why she bought so many items but that was trying to sell them now. She had a very snobby attitude about this adult collector/dealer/customer of AG friend of mine. Again I revert my attention back to the lady next to me in line and behind me. The NASA wife looked at me with her two Tenney dolls (one in a box she was going to return that may have been purchased at Kohls), and her daughter had two dolls in her arms and said we aren't collectors we just play with our dolls. Here I am holding my children's obviously played with dolls. One on a back pack and one in my arms. The more I thought about the bitterness of this lady just because she assumed my friend and I were collectors or dealers. What's wrong with that? Some people find it disturbing that adults play with dolls. I get that. My own step son finds my dolls creepy. He's entitled to his opinion. Don't assume you standing next to me that I am a dealer or collector. You don't know me. I am a collector though and my immediate family embraces it and my friends know who to call when they need doll stuff or advice. I just can't get over how bitter this woman is to me and the nerve of her bragging that her husband got a job at NASA just last month so they HAD to get Luciana if she could exchange Tenney.
The crowd proved too much for William and his anxiety but Skylar and my nephew stayed with me in the store. We got the adorable free t-shirt, activity sheet and Space Suit. The catalog says its only limited to reward members till July 2018... no one seems to know after July will it be available to the general public or will it just be sold out by then. So I wasn't taking my chances and my son hasn't taken it off his doll since we got home. Every day he's building a new rocket for his doll to fly in.
