On Loyalty

First of all, I’d just like to say, I don’t care how important the hockey game is, it is just not okay to wake a sleeping baby. I don’t understand how you can become so emotionally invested in a game on tv that you would hoot loud enough to wake a sleeping, TEETHING, possibly SICK with LYME DISEASE baby. Come on!

Ahem.

Skyler has this little blue bear that she loves. His name is BearBear. She’s had him forever, and I don’t know where she got him but he has been her best friend for a long time now. About a month ago we were driving in the van and out of nowhere she says, “Mom, you know, BearBear is mine friend.” It’s true, he is her friend. When she is worried or sad she seeks him out and hugs him hard. She sleeps with him every night.

Then one day Skyler went to Save-On-Foods with Daddy and there was a bear just like BearBear, only larger, and pink. She lost her damn mind over that bear, looked up at Daddy while hugging the bear and said in the most adorable voice she could muster, “He’s so fluffy I’m going to die!” Don’t give her too much credit on the cute scale here—that was a direct quote from the movie Despicable Me. She’s cute, but not THAT cute. So of course Daddy bought her the bear, which I am fine with. The more the merrier, right? But Daddy had a different idea. He thought it would be okay if Baby Bear Pink REPLACED BearBear. As in, “Skyler, you can only bring one bear to bed with you.” I’m all, “WHAT?!”

Wait, I should also let you know that there is not just one BearBear, although Skyler didn’t know it at that point. We have two, well three really, BearBears. They’re in rotation. Rather, two of them are in rotation but we had to pull the third because his outfit could be removed but the other two had outfits that couldn’t be and we were worried she’d figure out the ruse. When I realized how much she loved BearBear I bought a couple more on Ebay so that we’d never have to search for BearBear in the middle of the night, or break her heart if she
lost him. Because it is IMPORTANT to me that she LOVES BearBear. And LOVE means something. TO. ME.

Obviously that is one flaw in the Baby Bear Pink idea. But what really got to me is how she was completely willing to abandon BearBear, her confidante, her security, her soulmate, her FRIEND for some random pink bear. I was sad that suddenly it seemed as though the only person that was really worried about BearBear was me. Yes, I’ll admit it, I love that bear. That bear has kept my daughter emotionally safe for years. I love that bear.

I was worried for nothing though. Because now that the novelty of Baby Bear Pink has worn off, she is often forgotten. Skyler still sleeps with BearBear. AND Baby Bear Pink, and some random pink hamster. And anybody else she can fit in her tiny little arms. But always BearBear. And last night when I snuck into her room to kiss her goodnight, Baby Bear Pink was on the floor. And BearBear? Nestled safely in her arms. That’s my girl.