The Great Teddy Bear Swap

J has a favorite blanket, and a teddy bear. Blanket's name: Bear-Bear. Bear's blanket: bear. :) Our usual morning routine is J wakes up anywhere between 6:45 and 7:15 am - I call him my morning alarm clock, because he is that regular. Earlier if he DIDN'T get a nap the day before, strangely enough! He wakes up, and starts to call for me, "Mooom-MEE!!" Until I come into the bedroom. He stands up, grabs bear and bear-bear, and I pick all up out of the crib and carry them into my room to lay in bed with me. J even leans over and pats my pillow, inviting me to join him. So sweet.

Yesterday, same thing happened. But last night, when we went to put the kids to bed, bear could not be found! This is after a 45-minute crying-unconsolably event that I didn't want a repeat of. So, I promised I would find it! Ray and I looked all over the house, to no avail. I finally went into the girl's room, just in case bear had been taken in there. I turned on the light, and there was no bear. BUT, there was a PINK bear. Same fur, same style, close to the same size... hmmm, my brain was turning.

I turned off all the lights on the top floor, so everything was dark. I tip-toed into his room, where he was lying in the dark waiting patiently for bear. IN THE DARK, I handed him pink non-bear, and he said, "Ta too mom. Nigh nigh," rolled into pink non-bear and settled down to sleep.

I tip-toed out of the room, jubilant in my success - fear of the morning fuss not able to put a shadow on my evening stretching ahead of me without perma-crying ringing in my ears!

The bear fairies were with me this morning. Thanks to the no nap the day before - which I know lead to the night-time melt-down - J woke up early, and DARK. 6:45 am, the sun hadn't risen yet. I went into the bedroom, he picked up bear bear and somehow forgot pink non-bear. I settled him down all nice and cozy in my bed, and at the first free moment snuck back into his room to remove the evidence.

While writing this, J woke up from a too short nap, and has been crying for the past 35 minutes. What this means for tonight, I don't have a clue. But, one day, there will come a time that I tell my macho man boy child about the night he spent cuddling up to a pink teddy bear. And, I probably won't even remember the aggravating hours that led up to the desperate decision!