Dear Mom I talk to stuffed animals

Dear Mom, I talk to stuffed animals

Claire came up to me a few weeks ago and asked me if her stuffed camel Alice was real. I tried to explain “Alice is real in the sense Alice loves her and she loves Alice too.” “Alice misses her when she is gone just as she misses Alice when she is gone.” And indeed it is very true. There are few things in the world more lonely than a small stuffed camel perched on a step in the entryway waiting for her girl to come home. I walk up the stairs and see Alice waiting patiently with the stalwart intention of not moving an inch till Claire returns. “She’ll be back on Sunday night” I console her.

On Sunday night Claire will come through the door give me a big hug then reach for Alice. Once safely tucked under her arm she will then proceed to lesser things on her agenda. “Do you want to play legos?” “I am hungry” “Wouldn’t some ice cream be delicious right now daddy?”

While we are eating our ice cream she asks me “Did Alice miss me when I was gone?”
“Yes she did, I missed you too.”
“And I missed you Daddy.”
I turn to Alice, “I told you she’d be back on Sunday.”

In some way I am sure that before I had a daughter there is no way I would talk to a stuffed animal with a straight face.

Love Mike