How it all began ...

Disneyland, a place where Walt Disney's dream came true, a land of childhood dreams, a common destination for Make-A-Wish Foundations dream come true trips, an oasis for adults to dream like a kid again, and the place where Grandma Johnson's dream of her own Pooh Corner was born!
Pooh bear occupies a special window seat in my heart. He first captivated me at age ten, in the Walt Disney 1960's animated version of A. A. Milne's classic story 'Winnie the Pooh'. Sadly I admit my first introduction to Pooh Bear and friends was the movie. Generally books are much better, a common opinion that is not mine alone. I was startled when ten years later I learned Pooh was the star of not one, but four books! A rather delicious discovery.
In my early childhood I was not blessed with the tradition of reading bedtime stories. Learning to read was a struggle for me, albeit not as difficult a challenge as children with dyslexia and other reading disorders face. By age nine I was reading well enough on my own I was given an abridged version of Heidi for Christmas which was devoured before laying my head upon my holly and ivy pillowcase. My now life long reading love affair's maiden voyage was complete.
After our marriage it was my husband who reinforced my connections with Winnie the Pooh. One day he said to me, "I can always tell when you're happy." Curious I asked, "Why?" He replied, "Because you have a Winnie the Pooh walk." A little piqued I asked what he meant. "I don't know, you just walk happy, with a little bounce, like Pooh bear stuffed with honey." After some consideration I decided I liked the comparison. My husband has always identified himself with piglet, he also believes pigs make the perfect house pet. (No, we have never had one!)
Next on hubby's list came Disneyland. Having been several times himself he couldn't believe I'd reached a quarter of a century and never been. Two years into our marriage he found a way to accomplish one of his major goals, getting me to Disneyland. We borrowed his parents car and headed for LA. It was a blast! He's followed up taking our children twice and plans to take our youngest one more time since he was just a baby the first time we went.
On our first trip with the kids the idea for Pooh Corner was born. Looking for the perfect souvenir, and Disney has cornered the market on souvenirs as far as I can tell, I spent one morning poring through gift shops on Main Street USA. So much to chose from! Once I decided on a blanket throw over a t-shirt, tablecloth, nicknack, jewelry, or statue, then I faced the 'which is my most favored Disney character' dilemma.
Belle is my heroine, Peter Pan is my hero. I'm partial to the mice from 'Cinderella' and the dwarfs from 'Snow White'. 'Bambi', Thumper, and Flower all have space in my heart's Disney hutch beside Pooh's window seat. Nevertheless, it's Pooh who sits on the window seat.
So I chose the classic depiction of Pooh for my blanket throw. That was to be my only souvenir until ... I found the musical snow globes. Another delimma. I had already purchased the blanket throw, but I fell in love with two snow globes, one was Cinderella with her castle, the other was Winnie the Pooh and friends. I just couldn't decide which one.
My mind went to work. I could only approach my husband with a good reason to buy a second expensive souvenir. He was sporting a new Mickey Mouse watch I bought for his birthday. I was afraid he would want me to return my blanket if I wanted the snow globe (he did suggest that) or, worse, return the watch I gave him (he nearly did that!).
I let the matter sit for a day. The following afternoon we were together on Main Street USA eating ice cream cones with our youngest while our older children hit their favorite rides one last time. We split up and he took our youngest to Toone Town via the train while I picked up photos and hit my favorite shops one last time. He found me looking at the globes. By now I had my good reason to take home two souvenirs.
"You know the bookcase behind our rocking chair in the living room?" I asked. "I have an idea. I want to call that Pooh Corner. I'll put the blanket throw over the rocking chair and start a Winnie the Pooh collection on the top shelves of the bookcase. I'd really like to put the Pooh snow globe there and have it be the first thing to start my collection."
"Why do you need a Pooh Corner?" he asked. "For when I'm a grandma." I said. Now, at the time our oldest was thirteen, our youngest three.
"You don't need it now," he argued. "But I want to start collecting now," I argued back. "You're not a grandma yet," he pointed out. "Ian is still little, and if I start now by the time we have grandkids Pooh corner will be ready and waiting."
His arguing was pointless. He never had much of a chance. There we were in Disneyland and I had a dream, just like Cinderella my dream was a wish my heart made. And, as every fan of Disneyland knows, Disneyland is the place where dreams come true!
When Emma Marie was born and turned me into a grandma, one little corner in our home was all ready to take on its new name: Grandma Johnson's Pooh Corner.