Bear #4

Cali has had her beloved "Bear" since she was about 6 months old. At one point she had two Bears that I could swap out in case one was misplaced or in the wash. Those eventually got so worn out I bought a 3rd and told her that I was going to give Bear a "very good, very special bath." Now she is 4 1/2 and that 3rd Bear is on his last leg. I pointed out to her how worn he is getting (he practically has mange) and asked her what we should do. First, she suggested patches but I was skeptical (he'd need a full body patch, really). Next she suggested I could buy her a new one! Well, that's easy enough! I just wanted it be her idea this time and since she brought it up I headed straight to ebay to round one up. Just $12 later he was in the mail. I didn't tell her I had ordered him or that I was expecting him this week. One of Bear's unique features though is the ball rattle in his belly, so when I shook the package she had a pretty good idea what was inside!!

After all the initial excitement she came to me with the saddest voice and a few tears dripping down to tell me "the new Bear doesn't smell good like my Bear... sob... my Bear always smells like flowers." So I told her that was just because the new Bear hadn't been loved yet, that she just needed to hug him and cuddle him and love him and he would start smelling "good" too. She is a smart cookie and decided I was right. Tonight when she went to bed she told me she is going to just hug the new Bear and smell the old Bear. And with a few more sad little tears she told me that when the new Bear starts smelling good, that is when she will put the old Bear up on her shelf.