Barbies and Ken

I have never known any little girl who did not enjoy playing with Barbie dolls—myself included. And it is not uncommon for those same little girls to own multiple Barbies---there are so many to choose from. But what is uncommon is for little girls to own multiple Kens. Little girls only need one Ken—or in my case one G.I. Joe (that belonged to my brother) to live in Barbie world.

Elaine is a best friend. We met because life kept putting us in the same places at the same time: Cathedral Nursery School, Locust school, and on walks with strollers. It was actually my mother who noticed Elaine—she said I keep seeing this nice girl who looks like she could be your friend. And she was right. Elaine and I became fast friends.Aand Samantha and Amanda (Elaine’s daughter) became fast friends too. And Stephen, Elaine’s son was Briana’s age, and so they became friends. And my 3 girls and Amanda and Stephen played famously together.

The 5 kids often wrote plays. And Stephen had to play all the male characters. It was a lot of pressure for a little boy. He had to play the father and son and brother and policeman and serial killer and victim all in the same performance sometimes. . And when he forgot a line he had four girls to answer to. And trust me, these little girls had high expectations--their wrath was swift upon misspoken errors. They attacked like cobras—only more deadly.

But they also loved Stephen and appreciated his artistic contributions. And one year on Halloween he reaped the reward of all the henpecking. Stephen dressed up like a Quarterback, and Amanda, Samantha, Briana and Kara were his private cheerleaders. The girls each wore the same outfit: navy blue skirt, white Keds, pigtails with blue ribbons, 2 blue and white pom-poms, and a white sweat shirt with giant felt letters: SP (Stephen’s initials). And at every door during the treat or treat process, people would ask What does the SP stand for? And the 4 girls would point to Steve and say we are his cheerleaders—the SP stands for his name. And the people would say to Steve—Wow aren’t you lucky to have so many girls cheering for you! And Steve would shake his head and smile. It was good to be the quarterback. This was a role worth playing.

And the funny thing is that even although Stephen did not grow up to be the quarterback, he did become one of the most valuable players on the Garden City high school football team. He won numerous awards. He played in college. And he also grew up to be very comfortable around women—girls flocked to him like bees to honey.

Ultimately being the Ken doll as a little boy proved to be quite beneficial. Stephen has grown into a kind and empathetic man. And my girls—since they had no brother of their own, got a taste of what it was like to grow up with a boy around. None of my girls were shy in male company.

And even though each of the 5 kids aren’t as close anymore— their lives have meandered in different directions-- the memories of those days remain close to their hearts. And not a Halloween passes that one of my girls does not remind me Hey Mom—remember that year when we all were cheerleaders for Stephen? And I giggle-- say Yes-- and thank God for all the good times---I thank God for the blessing of good friends--- and little boys and girls who grow up too fast.