Our Health Care Crisis

Dick Durbin is down two arms, and he's been this way for quite some time. We've done our best, with tape and glue and a bandage fashioned from pink striped grosgrain. Great effort for short term results which always leave him loved and armless.

The time had come to seek professional help. Mary and Kate tottered in, Kate clutching Dick Durbin, knowing that soon they would have to part ways. She had prepared him well for his hospital visit, but clearly had not spent adequate time preparing herself.

The doll ladies were very nice, and very old.

"Oh, look at your dolly, what a wonderful little baby dolly you have there!"
Kate held on tighter, not wanting to relinquish control to this kind yet seemingly confused woman.

"What is your dolly's name? She is certainly a cutie!" Dick was wearing khaki pants and a Cubs jersey, nothing about his look said dolly or girl or cute.

Mary spoke up, "his name is Dick Durbin, he is my sister's doll". Thankfully Mary did not elaborate with her own doll's name.

The wrinkled fingers of the doll doctor pried the armless Senator from Kate's tight grip, "that's an interesting name. Does she go by Dickie?". It was clear that there was no way was Kate going to trust this woman with her precious doll.

The doll lady examined the patient, "oh my, she doesn't have any arms, or fingers! Where on earth are her fingers?".

"I chewed them all off, but I was much younger. I am now almost seven", said Kate with great authority.

It was as if this woman, who was at least 80 years old, had never before been faced with an armless and fingerless Senator Cubs fan doll in need of urgent care.

The octagenarian continued her exam and suggested we step out to wait for the diagnosis. After what seemed like hours an associate emerged from the exam room to deliver the news. They could repair the damage, they believed, but it was going to require major surgery. Apparently so, necessitating specialists from all over the doll world; the estimate provided for pre-authorization was twice what was initially paid for Baby Dick Durbin. And given that he does not have universal health care, we opted to forgo the surgery for now, to bring him home and provide the best care that we can here. Kate was elated, there would be no forced parting with her beloved Senator, but now the responsibility for medical repair falls to me yet again.

Super glue and grosgrain, I'm no surgical specialist but I can reattach an arm in an emergency. Which is just what this is; Kate and her senator are soon off to D.C. to meet the fully-limbed Senator Durbin. Best that our Dick Durbin have arms, to shake the hand of the real Senator. Arms, but probably not fingers, I'm not a miracle worker.

Enough Love for Two

"American Girl, really?"
"Yes, I think they're nice, and the girls are old enough, they'd love them".
"But really, have you been to the store, have you seen the madness?".

Impossible to sway her, my step mother wanted to buy Mary and Kate American Girl dolls for Christmas last year and she was insistent. Eventually I agreed to her most generous offer but only if she would come here and take them to the store, I couldn't imagine doing it myself. Years ago I went in, with Heather and her daughter, and it was terrifying. Jack met us there, he barely stepped in the front door before shrieking and running away fast, laughing at the fathers lined up outside.

The dolls arrived several weeks before Christmas, unwrapped. Late at night Jack and I dug into the packages, there were the two dolls, Kit and Molly, but also extra clothes, accessories, and books. Knowing that she was right, and that the girls would love all of this, I wrapped it all individually, making a pile of gifts for them to open Christmas morning.

First we handed them the small packages, the accessories and clothes. As expected they went wild, screaming and jumping, delighted with everything they had opened. Mary ran from the room, returning seconds later with Barack Obama wearing Molly's glasses. Oh dear, and then Kate, Dick Durbin now modeling Kit's beret. We hadn't considered this.

Confidently we handed them the big packages, certain they would fall instantly in love with these beautiful dolls. Mary got her paper off first, dryly she muttered "oh, it's a doll". Kate looked terrified, she tentatively tore off the paper, took one look at Kit and started sobbing. "I don't want a new doll, I love Baby Dick Durbin".

Having two babies myself I tried to convince them that there was plenty of love to share but they couldn't be swayed, no thank you, no new dolls. Jack tried, he showed them all the new clothes, and the books, but eventually removed the dolls to preserve the happiness of Christmas day.

From time to time Molly and Kit came out, we would play with them, the resistance becoming less and less pronounced. One day in May I heard them banging around in their closet, throwing shoes and laundry and stuffed animals from the very back of the tiny space, in search of Kit and Molly.

Kate and Mary have found room in their heart for both Dick and Barack, and Molly and Kit. Dick and Barack sleep where they always have, held suffocatingly close at night, while Molly and Kit have their own cradle. The girls change their clothes constantly, and Dick and Barack have been kind enough to reciprocate, sharing some of their colorful outfits, none of which fit American Girl dolls. It's a fine example of an expanded family that really works.

This year my stepmother sent another large box for the girls, inside I found several new outfits for Molly and Kit. Wrapping them each individually, I wrote out the cards to the dolls, for the girls to open. The day before Christmas I realized I had nothing under the tree for the politicians. Using the guise of needing another gift for their three month old cousin, I took the girls to the local toy store, hoping to sneak out with outfits for Dick and Barack. Easy to do as Kate spent easily 20 minutes inspecting each and every stuffed animal she thought suitable for an infant. In the end we left with a very small soft lion, and two more doll outfits, although it is getting more and more challenging to find doll clothes appropriate for a Senator and a President. We own every non pink item they offer.

Kate, clutching Dick on Christmas morning

There was great joy on Christmas morning with each opened package. As is the case in our family, there is plenty of love, love enough for two.

Rainy Day Tea

No better way to spend a cold and rainy day...

a tea party with the Senator and the President.

While Senator Durbin was wide awake and wearing his snappy Irish soccer jersey, the poor President appears exhausted. It's been a rough 100 (and just a little bit more) days and this weekend promises to be challenging; have a chopped egg cut in a circle sandwich sir, enjoy.

Senator Who?

Not just yet you sly guy, if the U.S. Senate won't let you in then we certainly are not either. Barack and Dick are just fine, in fact they just got new outfits, one with a parasol.

This is a civics lesson I am just not ready to teach the four year olds.

Working Together for Change

Today I was made aware by my most loyal reader, and occasional stalker Otto, that I now have to change the name of the blog, "the senators" being no longer correct. We will now be North Side Four plus Eleanor Roosevelt, the Senator and the President Elect. This is going to a rough transition in our house, a complete change in common vernacular, no more "girls, grab the Senators, we are leaving" or "do the Senators have on proper clothing?" or "yes, you may bring the Senators, we are going to Trader Joe's" (they like to push them in the small carts). It's a learning curve, we'll all have to work hard to get this right. We're happy to do it, really, no problem.

North Side Fans

Always one to try a new look, the Senators delight in their new Cubs batting helmets, gifts from Mary and Kate who each powered through a full hat of ice cream for this prize. We had no idea ice cream could get any more exciting, we were wrong. Dick and Barack are so timely with this look, the Cubs being division champs for the second year in a row, Cubs gear is all the rage in the neighborhood.

Fashion Show

The Senators in their spanky new sweaters. Barack is wearing a traditional Aran style with a warm turtleneck while Dick, clearly the sport of the two, opted for the always classic v-neck tennis sweater. Game, set, match!

Well Dressed Senators

We stopped at the Ralph Lauren outlet store en route back from Michigan, it seems that the camping pillows reminded me that we sadly needed new pillows on our bed at home. While Jack and I dug through the pillow assortment, Mary and Kate found the best deal to ever be found in an outlet store, the Ralph Lauren dog clothing basket. But they did not know these were dog clothes, why these little items were the perfect size for the senators. Sweater after jacket after sweatshirt was pulled out, examined, discussed and returned to the basket. This was senator shopping heaven! After much thought, and great debate, the girls decided on sweaters and so now our senators are wearing cashmere doggie sweaters, originally priced at $250 ( WHO buys these?), which we purchased, along with two new bed pillows, for $9.99 each. Outlet shopping madness!

The Dolphins, the President and the Senators

All the singing dolphins in the bathtub have names, and they change from time to time. Sometime before the mid-term elections, mid shampoo, one of the dolphins became George Bush. I almost fell into the tub with the girls and the singing dolphins. Where did they hear this? Why? And so I decided then that I would teach them other names, their senators, the mayor, political historical figures. We started with Dick Durbin and Barack Obama. And the dolphins got new names, and all was happy. Then Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House, and she got a dolphin, as did Hillary, and Senator Kennedy (but that was because he wrote a wonderful children's book, My Senator and Me, which they love).

At Christmas Mary and Kate received dolls, their first dolls, from their grandparents. And the dolls got names; one day, as I was searching for a lost puzzle piece under the couch, I overheard Kate talking about Dick's shoes. I jumped up, most curious, and there she was, playing with her doll, Dick Durbin. And then Mary followed, as is her custom, naming her doll Barack Obama. The names stuck, the senators became full time residents and now having them here is as normal as living with Eleanor Roosevelt the beagle. I'm reminded of the uniqueness of their chosen names when grocery shopping; Mary and Kate wander the aisles discussing the likes and dislikes of their senators, "Dick Durbin loves avocados", or "Barack Obama does not really like black beans". Never dull, always fun, sometimes exhausting. That's Barack, or BO as he is sometimes known, on the left, Dick Durbin on the right.