What you're doing is incredible (for your wife). You are a great husband and parent. (Ok, I'll get off that subject)
I never played with Barbie's really. The only time I can truly recall playing with one was at my god-sister's house. It was fun that day, but I never asked for one. I was content with my super-hero, space 1999, star trek, and evil knievel(sp?) dolls.
Although I've never really done much with dolls, I did receive a teddy bear from one of the kids in our (extended) family a number of years ago for Christmas. Sometime at night when I was feeling sad or after an emotionally difficult day, I would hug the little bear before I went to sleep. I don't know what ever became of the bear, but these days a little tuxedo cat curls up next to me at night, and that too provides me some comfort when my life is sad or difficult. I've never been married, and I've never had any children--sometimes you just need something.
I might look for one at some point in the future, Julie. Blackie, the tuxedo cat, is old and probably doesn't have many more years. Kang and Kodos, the other two cats, are nice and fluffy, but they're a little funny about too much human contact. Maybe Kang will be friendlier if he feels he doesn't have to share space on my bed with another feline; Kodos doesn't have much to do with people unless she's feeling needy. But another teddy bear (maybe one with a more feminine quality to it this time) might be a nice touch--and, in any case, teddy bears don't have aversions and aren't territorial.
Hi Julie--
Well, I still have the stuffed rabbit that I lugged around everywhere when I was small. He's been patched up so many times that it's a little hard to tell just WHAT he is, if you didn't know. He sits on the fireplace mantle, and on the other side is the nice, new rabbit that one of my girlfriends bought me long ago. The third member of the group is a little blue toucan bird I won at a carnival. He has yellow, red, and purple wings, with an orange beak.
When I was a kid I had lots of stuffed animals. Hand-me-downs from five brothers and sisters. Barbie was before my time, so she wasn't around.
A
