I know they have outgrown most all of their playthings.
Still, when the announcement of the victory of Anja Busse, a 13-year old #youngmaker with an idea to give her doll a special diabetes kit was confirmed by mainstream toy maker, Mattel, this week, my heart wildly fluttered.
I remembered, all too well, the many versions of 'homemade' insulin pumps, plastic doctor kits and band-aid covered stuffed animals that our girls once played with.
I also remembered the very special trips to Chicago and New York's American Girl flagship stores to scoop up pint-sized toys which included (through their own choosing) a wheelchair, a set of crutches and even a tiny kit for braces on dolly's teeth.
My girls always gravitated towards the realistic gear of what was often seen at the Children's Hospital as they went to and from their quarterly clinic appointments.
While tea sets were nice, the coolest items were always those that provided a story line of helping through surgeries, magic medicines and ultimately, a creative cure.
I still think that having access to that type of 'play' allowed the girls to work through many difficult concerns of chronic care. Through their own creativity, they normalized the life that we led, As they played, it became a mantra that everybody has something - especially teddy, bitty baby, Molly and Julia.
In short, being imperfect was perfect.
It wasn't all that long ago, was it?
Sigh. Time does swiftly fly by. The proof is between the now and then.
Tonight, as our daughters are away with friends, having memory-making teen aged sleepovers, my sleepless mind, happily encouraged the rest of me to seek out the American Girl website. With little willpower, I ordered not one, but two tiny little doll-sized diabetes kits.
Sitting here now with the admitted nostalgia, I can't tell whom this shopping spree is really for.
Me, as a mom, with memories of little girls transformed from patients to doctors,
or...
maybe after the kits arrive,
it will be older girls transformed back into little girls with a mom delighted to see a glimpse back in time.
And mom as the biggest 'little' girl of all.
2 comments:
I haven't seen these doll kits yet and now I must go get one for my 4 year old. Thanks for sharing!
Beth, they are just the cutest little kits! I will have a product demo on here soon... you have to see them on video to see how adorable they are! So, so, so CUTE!!!!
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