The Adventures of Teddy

Teddy is Gabbie's teddy bear. She is not terribly original when naming favorite animals or dolls. For awhile she named everything Caroline, but that phase is over, and so is the Dora phase, Thank God!

Teddy came to live with us when Gabbie was born. Grandpa Marty sent a bouquet of pink roses to us in celebration of Gabbie's birth, and holding the bouquet was this pink teddy bear. Teddy continued living with us, and was just there. Gabbie had several other favorite animals, first a lamb, then her Panda, then a monkey and finally Teddy. Her very own pink teddy bear.

Teddy has traveled extensively, both to California and New Mexico this summer. She has also been through the washing machine and dryer a number of times. See, Teddy is so loved and takes such good care of Gabbie that sometimes things happen to her, like she gets puked on, and then she has to be washed. Sometimes she also goes on adventures in Walmart, and her nose gets dirty from playing on the floor, so she needs to be washed.

Last week, tragedy struck our home. At bedtime Teddy could not be found. While interviewing the prime suspect in the disappearance of Teddy, we came to find out that the suspect thought that Teddy needed an outing to the backyard. Uh-oh. The searchlights were turned on, and Daddy and the suspect scoured the backyard, no Teddy.

Poor Gabbie. She resignedly slept with her doll baby Katy that night. And the next, and next and next. No Teddy sightings. We searched the house, the car, the yard. Nothing. No trace of Teddy. What had happened to her? Had a bird taken her? Had a little boy that lives her thrown her away? No clue.

Then yesterday afternoon, elation! Teddy was home! Gabbie found Teddy in our own backyard. She was in the middle of one of our bushes outside. How she got there, I don't know, why we didn't find her sooner, is a mystery. Thankfully it had not rained in the five days since she had gone missing, and she was just a bit dusty. She went through the washer and dryer, again, and joined her best friend an hour after bedtime. Gabbie was still awake, awaiting her reunion with a now sweet smelling teddy. Ah, to hold her soft teddy and drift off to sleep, what peace!