Lovies

Everything Changes

by

Matthew T. Lipson

3.2 : Lovies

My former mother-in-law called them Lovies.  That one toy your child can't survive without.  My eldest's was a Winnie the Pooh plush.  It kept her company on walks, on the changing table, when potty training, and, of course, when asleep.  She would trade out for other stuffed animals and eventually be replaced with a Simba plush after fully potty trained.  Yet, he has still stuck around.  Whether stuffed in a toy chest, shoved in a closet or under the bed, he hangs around reminding us of all the changes and growth she and I have gone through.  He has stood ... actually, sat ... witness to the strength of love connecting the two of us.  I can look at him and remember how she clutched him, sucked on his ear.  Yes, that wasn't specific to Pooh.  She'll remind me of that, of course.  I wonder, sometimes, if she keeps him because I won't let him go or because she won't.  After all, I am a nostalgic person.  Once I was the Winnie the Pooh Uncle.  Always giving Pooh related items to my nieces and nephews.  In the end I was a Winnie the Pooh Father.