“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens…”

My daughter, Margareta, never got to sing this song from the Sound of Music, but my guess is that she would have loved both the song and the movie. She died before she was old enough to see it. I was recently asked what things she liked while she was alive. So, with the catchy tune playing in my head, here are a few of Margareta’s “favorite things”. I’m quite certain this doesn’t nearly capture them all, and they are in no particular order.

Her Thumb
Margareta is in the midst of a long line of thumb-suckers. I have an ultrasound of her sucking her thumb in the womb. As soon as she got any sort of control over her hands, she started sucking her left thumb. No one was going to be able to get her to stop until she wanted to. No one.

Stuffed Animals
Just like all of my children, when Margareta was brought home from the hospital, her crib was lined with stuffed animals. Unlike any of my other children, Margareta was the only one who actually loved stuffed animals. She played with all of them, and had a knack for finding them in other people’s houses – especially households that didn’t have little kids in them. When she found them, she would gather all of them in one big pile, as if to have a stuffed animal conference.

Books
Margareta loved books to the point where she would sit and “read” them by herself in her room even though she didn’t know how to read. I read her three books at bedtime, and other times throughout the day. Books were so important to her that they could be used as motivation for getting her to do something she didn’t want to do. All I’d have to say is “No bedtime books if you don’t…” and she would immediately give in. She loved books so much I had to keep adding bookshelves in her room to hold her growing collection. She would sit patiently and listen to books that were written for children much older than her. After she died, her Aunt Cindy – who with her friends had built a school library for a Mayan community in Mexico –  named it in honor of Margareta. It is called Biblioteca del Sol (Sol is her middle name). We think it is a wonderful way to honor her.

Chocolate
Actually, anything sweet would do, but chocolate was her favorite. Having two parents with major sweet tooths, she inherited that gene in full force. I’ve already written about her affinity for ice cream. We would use chocolate to bribe her on occasion. We used it in potty training and for getting her to stop crying when being dropped off at her new preschool. When she ate trail mix, I had to institute the rule of five raisins and nuts for every one M&M. On her third birthday, I made chocolate leaves on her cake which left such an impression on her that she asked for them for her fourth birthday cake.

Stealing George
George is a black gorilla. He belonged to her big brother Michael, who snuggled with George every night at bed time. Margareta took great delight in stealing George and hiding him from Michael. Michael was not very amused, but then again, isn’t annoying big brothers what little sisters do best?

Dress Up
Margareta LOVED playing dress up. We had a huge collection of costumes, but any clothes would do. Whether it be unusual combinations of her own clothes, dressing up in her brother Michael’s pajamas and soccer socks, or her latest favorite costume…Margareta would change clothes as often as she could. I think of it like a singer changing clothes between songs during a concert. The only problem was any clothes she took off would be left in a pile on her floor, which meant her room was constantly messy.

Puzzles
From an early age, Margareta became a master puzzle solver. She quickly became bored of the baby/toddler puzzles where you fit pieces into corresponding shapes, so I introduced basic jigsaw puzzles. To my amazement, I had to keep getting her harder and harder puzzles to do because she would figure out how to put them together so quickly. Her favorite puzzle was of an underwater scene with fish, octopus, jellyfish, lobster, etc. It was one of those large floor puzzles that was bigger than her.

Animals
Margareta loved animals with a passion. One of her favorite books was an Amazon animal alphabet book. She delighted in going to the zoo, and aside from spiders, she never seemed shy about approaching or petting animals no matter what kind. She would quietly watch the deer who came near our house for afternoon snacks or a drink of water in our pond. Margareta began naming the deer; usually nonsensical names that were hard for me to repeat, but I remember clearly one deer who had lost a hoof was endearingly named “Rock Star”. She also had a soft spot for dogs. No matter how big, she would want to pet them and talk to them. I remember our friend Jimmy telling a story at her memorial service that his son was amazed that she was brave enough to try to hug their dog, who was taller than she was. When asked, “Why isn’t she scared of him?”, Jimmy answered, “Her love for him is stronger than any fear she might feel”. I couldn’t have said it any better.

There are many more favorite things, but that will have to wait for “Her Favorite Things: Part 2”.

What are some of your loved one’s favorites? I’d love to hear.

Submitted by Maria Kubitz, in loving memory of her daughter, Margareta Kubitz.