She also lost her baby blanket three weeks ago. This blankie, dubbed yellow and often referred to as smellow, was given to her before she took her first breath. She rubbed it’s silky edges and chewed its corners brown. She loved it until it was holey and took it with her most everywhere, which would be its demise. Smellow Yellow was last seen at the Andover Dillon’s. We were told it was in lost and found for a couple of days but then thrown out, probably because of its appearance. Clearly, lost and found was not monitored by a parent because that blanket’s appearance (and smell) should have made its value obvious. It was a priceless, irreplaceable lovey.
Thing 2 with her Yellow
She cried and has mourned her most favorite blankie ever. Me too. We’ve talked about how losing a lovey is part of growing up, and what a big girl she’s becoming. She’s playing T-ball, going into the first grade, and while we miss yellow and are so sad it’s gone, it is ok because she no longer needs it. There’s no replacing yellow, but she’s making her own big girl blanket now and even has her first wiggly tooth. She’s growing up, and dragging me along kicking and screaming.
Two weeks ago, Mrs. 1inamillion parted ways with her BFF. When I was sixteen, I got a dog and named her Harley. We were told she was Yorkshire terrier and Pomeranian, but we later determined she must also have had a bit of Himalayan rat in her as well. She was too big to be just a Yorkie-Pom and nowhere near fluffy, but she was absolutely fabulous. Harley had such character and accompanied me in college, getting married, moving to Indiana, Florida and back to Kansas again. She comforted Mr. 1inamillian through several recoveries, and welcomed our children into our family.
Harley J. Hooley, 4/9/1992-6/4/2010
Harley was with me for more than half my life; eighteen years, 126 if you do the dog math. She had hacked like an eighty year old smoker for quite a while. I had prayed many times for the Lord to take her home peacefully when it was time and not let me struggle with that decision. There were multiple occasions when sleeping so sound, I laid down beside her and told her I loved her and if she saw a light or Mom, it was okay to run. She’d lift her head up and look at me like I was nuts. But two weeks ago when Harley was sick to her stomach and unable to stand on her own, we looked at each other and knew that it was in fact time. We shed tears and said goodbye. Thing 1 and I took her to the vet who helped her make it to Glory quickly and peacefully.
I am still crying and mourning my most favorite dog ever. I left that vet’s office to comfort my children, to get a flat tire fixed and a dead car battery replaced and work to pay the bills. I am struggling to be a grown up. I may look and act the part, but inside I‘m kicking and screaming about it all.
Now we are facing the fact that another lovey may be gone. After a day of massive clean up at our house, we discovered last night that Buster is missing in action. Buster was Mr. 1inamillion’s Victory Bear that he received on his very first day of chemotherapy and had given to Thing 1. After three years of lots of snuggling, Buster was undeniably a lovey. We are talking about the story of The Velveteen Rabbit, about how our love can be magical. We are shedding more tears, mourning the loss of a most favorite bear ever.
Tylenol helps ease the pain of wiggly teeth and aching joints, but there’s no replacing our loveys. This summer’s growing pains hurt. Amidst them, though, we have managed to kick off the training wheels and begun jumping from the high dive. We are growing into new adventures. It is easier to run free without toting a blankie, a raggedy bear or worry about a 126 year old friend that just longs to run free, too. We are treasuring our memories, but focusing on sharing our love with those we still have and doing our best to learn what we can and welcome the joys that await us. Hopefully with a little less of me kicking and screaming along the way.
Dang it girl....you made me cry...and that is quite a feat! Growing up sure isn't how it looked in the brochures! lol
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