I’m not very good at the sort of play that grown-ups enjoy. I almost killed a goose once when I sliced and very nearly combined bird hunting with a golf tournament. I can serve a tennis-ball…across the fence and into traffic. I once swung at a baseball no less than 20 times as team-mates kept encouraging me.
However, I have a great imagination. Imaginary play was my delight as a child, and I rediscovered it when my own children became my born-again playmates.
Unfortunately, I felt inadequate when it came to dolls. Since my poor daughter is blessed with three older brothers, she is always looking for someone to play dolls with her. Often, that someone is ‘papa.’
Mind you, I have spent many hours at GI Joe, but let’s face it, he’s an ‘action figure,’ not a doll! Right? To this day I have unopened Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower and D-Day GI Joes. I also have a Navjo Code-Talker. My children once gave me an Air Force Para-Rescue GI Joe, but the square-rigged parachute was too cool to leave alone, so we opened his plastic box prison and threw him down the steps and up over the yard time and time again. He’s still escaping and evading, somewhere in the house.
All of that made sense to me. Joe was about adventure and combat! Joe had M-1Garands, M-4 carbines or sharks to capture. To be cliche and repetitive, he was a ‘man of action.’
But the doll thing initially had me mystified. I asked my wife for help; I figured, she was a girl once, right? So she explained it to me. ‘Dolls talk.’ ‘What? That’s it? They talk?’ To many men, especially those without cherished wives or precious daughters to serve as tutors, nothing is more terrifying than the prospect of simple talk. But because I have both, we talked. Elysa and I have played with various dolls, from Polly Pockets to baby-dolls, from Groovy Girls to Barbies. And we have talked.
We talked to each other about our dolls’ names; which changed from minute to minute. Our dolls, especially Barbies, discussed life and friendship, dreams and fears. They went to college, they went to the beach. They rode horses and drove cars. The Barbies now live in a large house with an open front (poor building codes if you ask me), but equipped with a hand-crank elevator and a balcony, from which the dolls can survey the vast imaginary beach, college, mountains or city that appears from moment to moment, thanks to the inestimable power of imagination.
In addition to talk, there were costume changes. A man not prepared for this sort of thing might be offended by the shear magnitude of nudity to be found in a room full of Barbies. But it’s just that someone is always changing! Statistically, someone is going to be undressed. Shoes, bags, dresses, swimsuits and hair-bows, changing clothes is the only thing Barbie does almost as much as she talks.
But I realized some time ago that doll time was also, if I paid attention, a teaching time. I sometimes let the dolls ask questions their mistress might not, about relationships or jobs, love and proper behaviors.
In fact, I have taken Ken in hand and have decided to mentor him, in full sight of my daughter. He is never allowed to sleep over in the Barbie house. He always walks Barbie home. And he absolutely has to keep his pants on his body. This is growing more difficult as his pants fray like Robinson Crusoe’s, and Elysa seems bent on his progressive exposure. (He hasn’t had a shirt in months).
Ken has to act the gentleman. He has to be considerate and polite. And he is always either 1) in school or 2) gainfully employed. Sometimes GI Joe stops by when he is abducted from the boys’ room, but that’s fine. He’s serving the country, and that’s honorable employment in my book. It was a little awkward a few days ago when the girls met Joe on a country road and he was carrying a Walther sniper-rifle. But he was considerate, and kept the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
I’ve learned to talk to Elysa through her dolls. And I knew it had paid off recently when Barbie asked her suiter if perhaps they could go to church together for a first date. Her idea, not mine.
I guess I’ll have to explore Ken’s theology. We’ll talk.
This is great! As a mother of a daughter and a grandmother of two granddaughters, you got it right. Absolutely right. Keep talking.
RKM
12 years ago
That is terrific! If all sons also learned the parallel lessons as well what a polite society it would be. Thanks for the laugh and insight.
mamadoc
12 years ago
Our kids played with Barbie but we never had any Ken dolls. They really liked the American Girl dolls, who have about as much stuff as Barbie (just higher end) but they look like little girls so are much more wholesome I think. There’s also books about each doll(there’s one for every major historical period in America) and they also have wholesome values. I never liked Barbie–thought it sent a (bad) message to girls that it was all about dressing up, looking “good,” and having lots of stuff.
Due to space constraints, I was hitting the funnier stuff in our doll experiences, but actually Elysa truly loves her American Girl dolls, who have the honored place on her bed. She and Jan went to the American Girl store in Atlanta for her birthday and had a tea party. I agree, Barbie’s values are suspect at times, and certainly need direction!
Superb site and theme, would really like to see a bit more content though! Then again my puppet site hasn’t much either – Great post anyway, added your RSS feed! Love this theme, too!
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The following time I go through a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as very much as this a person. I suggest, I do know it had been my solution to go through, but I actually imagined youd have a single thing fascinating to say. All I hear is actually a bunch of whining about something that you may fix for people who werent too busy seeking interest.
I have to express because of this writer for rescuing me from this setting. Just soon after browsing by way of the search engines like google and assembly notions which ended up being not beneficial, I imagined my complete lifestyle was well in excess of. Existing with no the presence of answers to the problems you’ve sorted out by way of your beneficial quick report is usually a crucial circumstance, and types which may perhaps have negatively damaged my vocation if I experienced not seen your web web site. Your precise potential and kindness in touching a lot of things… Read more »
I not to mention my men came seeking by way of the great hints on the blog then all of a sudden came up with an awful suspicion I hardly ever thanked the positioning proprietor for those secrets. People ladies ended up for that explanation pleased to examine as a result of them and have particularly been generating essentially the most of people factors. We appreciate you quickly staying fairly accommodating at the same time as for proceeding for variety of superior options tens of millions of people are seriously desperate to recognize about. My personalized trustworthy regret for not… Read more »
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This is great! As a mother of a daughter and a grandmother of two granddaughters, you got it right. Absolutely right. Keep talking.
That is terrific! If all sons also learned the parallel lessons as well what a polite society it would be. Thanks for the laugh and insight.
Our kids played with Barbie but we never had any Ken dolls. They really liked the American Girl dolls, who have about as much stuff as Barbie (just higher end) but they look like little girls so are much more wholesome I think. There’s also books about each doll(there’s one for every major historical period in America) and they also have wholesome values. I never liked Barbie–thought it sent a (bad) message to girls that it was all about dressing up, looking “good,” and having lots of stuff.
Due to space constraints, I was hitting the funnier stuff in our doll experiences, but actually Elysa truly loves her American Girl dolls, who have the honored place on her bed. She and Jan went to the American Girl store in Atlanta for her birthday and had a tea party. I agree, Barbie’s values are suspect at times, and certainly need direction!
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Superb site and theme, would really like to see a bit more content though! Then again my puppet site hasn’t much either – Great post anyway, added your RSS feed! Love this theme, too!
So sexy , and effective post . I enjoy this visual and every little thing associated to mistress!
Hello there, You’ve done an excellent job. I’ll certainly digg it and for my part recommend to my friends. I’m sure they’ll be benefited from this website.
hello there and thank you to your info – I have certainly picked up anything at all new from appropriate right here. I did however expertise a couple of specialized details making use of this web page, as I seasoned to reload the site lots of situations previous to I could get it to load effectively. I experienced been asking yourself but if your internet internet hosting is OK? Not that I’m complaining, but gradual loading instances instances will often have an impact on your placement in google and can deterioration your good quality score if marketing and advertising with… Read more »
Needed to be able to write you this tiny observe in order to thank you a lot once all over again using the fairly views you’ve got contributed on this web page. This really is definitely tremendously generous of you to convey publicly precisely what many individuals may have marketed for an e e book for making some dough on their very own, particularly seeing that you may nicely have accomplished it just in case you desired. The basics also served to become a straightforward technique to be certain that other men and women possess the identical fascination significantly like… Read more »
hello there and thank you on your facts – I’ve definitely picked up some thing new from appropriate right here. I did nevertheless expertise some technical tips working with this word wide web web site, as I knowledgeable to reload the site several periods prior to I could get it to load appropriately. I obtained been pondering if your net host is OKAY? Not that I’m complaining, but sluggish loading situations occasions will often have an effect on your placement in search engines and could harm your high quality score if promotion and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am including… Read more »
The following time I go through a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as very much as this a person. I suggest, I do know it had been my solution to go through, but I actually imagined youd have a single thing fascinating to say. All I hear is actually a bunch of whining about something that you may fix for people who werent too busy seeking interest.
I have to express because of this writer for rescuing me from this setting. Just soon after browsing by way of the search engines like google and assembly notions which ended up being not beneficial, I imagined my complete lifestyle was well in excess of. Existing with no the presence of answers to the problems you’ve sorted out by way of your beneficial quick report is usually a crucial circumstance, and types which may perhaps have negatively damaged my vocation if I experienced not seen your web web site. Your precise potential and kindness in touching a lot of things… Read more »
I not to mention my men came seeking by way of the great hints on the blog then all of a sudden came up with an awful suspicion I hardly ever thanked the positioning proprietor for those secrets. People ladies ended up for that explanation pleased to examine as a result of them and have particularly been generating essentially the most of people factors. We appreciate you quickly staying fairly accommodating at the same time as for proceeding for variety of superior options tens of millions of people are seriously desperate to recognize about. My personalized trustworthy regret for not… Read more »