i'm a barbie girl

Well, I was anyway.  Back in the day.  I played with Barbies, Transformers, Star Wars action figures and My Little Ponies.  (I was a well-rounded child.)  Anyway, most of my time spent with friends was spent with our Barbies.  Oh, the soap operas we created with those things - complete with frequent costume changes, drama, sex, and more and more characters being added all the time.

I started out by playing with my mom's old Barbie, Ken, Midge and Skipper dolls and as the years went on, my inventory grew.  There were 3 or 4 of us girls in the neighborhood who played religiously and we'd go over to each other's houses, dolls and accessories in hand, and would make up scenes for hours and hours.  I don't think our parents minded because we wouldn't bother them for anything while we were there - we were far too engrossed in the plastic dramas unfolding in front of our eyes. For the last year or two that I still played with them, I had them in a huge suitcase that was too heavy for me to carry. I'm sure the adults in the neighborhood were quite amused when they saw me walking down the sidewalk carting a suitcase full of dolls on a dolly.  Ironic, isn't it?

I grew older and outgrew playing with dolls and the suitcase was packed away in one of my parents' storage closets.  And there it stayed...for years.  Every once in a while we would drag it out when it was time to organize and we'd put it back "just in case" I ever had a little girl who would want to play with them.

Well, it was a boy - and he was much more interested in Transformers and Star Wars action figures, very few of which I had kept.  (I'm very thankful for this though.  I don't think I could play Barbie soap opera with my own kid.)  We did have downstairs neighbors with two little girls though, and they loved Barbies - they just didn't have many.  Before they moved out, they were going through some pretty rough times.  They needed some cheering up and those dolls needed a new home.  It was the perfect match.

The dolls in their suitcase ready for their new home.

I picked up the suitcase from my parents, put all of the dolls back in their original clothing, (Yes - I could actually remember which one was which and what they were supposed to wear.) and and gave them to the girls downstairs.  The clothes were a little outdated and some of their hairstyles resembled that of the Bride of Frankenstein, but they didn't seem to care.  The smiles on their faces were priceless.  After a little while of playing with them, they knocked on our door to show me the outfits that they had come up with for them and then gave me a big hug.  Totally worth it.

I have no idea where those girls are now, but I hope they were able to escape into the fantasy world of Barbie whenever they needed to.  Barbie could be anything, go anywhere, have the best life imaginable, and sometimes that imaginary world is the best retreat for any kid.