This small square of a blanket and teddy bear have me by the balls...if I had balls.

This morning  Laurel looked at me in a panic.  The first question out of her mouth, "Where is Pal?"  The irony of her question is that it was asked as I was trying to find "Baby Bear" for Rachel.  The day starts and ends with Pal and Bear Bear--this small square of a blanket and teddy bear have me by the balls...if I had balls.

Laurel's "Pal" is a small light fleece blanket.  It was given to me when I was pregnant with her.  We didn't know if she was a girl or a boy so Pal is a gentle mix of yellow, light blue and green.  I am not sure when he was named but he is a constant sleep companion that has just gotten softer over time.

Rachel's "Baby Bear" was originally a small teddy bear that was Laurel's.  It was named Honey and one day as Laurel put him down and moved on to another stuffy, Rachel decided that it was her's.  She named him Baby Bear and Laurel didn't balk at the taking of her bear.  (Rachel has this way of just taking things and then giving you this look of command.  Obviously Laurel sometimes is scared shitless of it as am I.)  In the past year, Baby Bear has been very loved..he is quite scruffy and covered in band-aids.  His left ear is kind of torn and he has a smell of funk that I just can't get out.

These items keep me on my toes.  If they are left anywhere, I can usually come up with a good lie on the sly:  Baby Bear is being taken care of by the sitter or Pal is in the wash.  I hope there is never a day when they are permanently lost.  There have been many a trip when we are trying to teach, mainly Laurel, responsibility and keeping an eye on her things.  Usually she leaves her Pal lying around and I happen to catch it.  But there are times when he is packed up because she swears that he is a bag and she did it. I then spend the whole trip praying that he is actually in that bag.  Luckily I have never had to call a Marriot Courtyard begging them to Fed Ex it to Newton.


While these items will get us to look in every nook and cranny, Ching and I really can't judge the attachment of these items.  First of all, they are children.  Secondly, Ching and I treat our phones like they are "Pal" and "Baby Bear".


This upcoming trip with Ching and the girls is making me nervous---on trips I check to make sure everything is in packed up and ready to go regardless if it's the plane, hotel, at a family member's house, etc.  While I can't double check, at least I know exactly where they are staying.  I know who to call as I suck up and beg to have anything crucial shipped overnight.  I will have to hear the standard, "oh you should have come with them."  I can laugh that off as I grit my teeth, anything to avoid facing Rachel's wrath about that bear.