Monday, December 13, 2004
I just spent 20 agonizing, gut-wrenching minutes. Annabelle was preparing to go to bed and came to me with the news that Blankie is missing in action.
Blankie, for all its skanky raggedness, is actually New Blankie. Annabelle received the original Blankie as a gift from my friend Eleanor shortly after she was born. An extravagently expensive, impractical concoction of fine handkerchiefs and the softest flannel on earth, Blankie was the kind of baby present that one could receive only from somebody who had both no children and exceptionally fine taste. I was determined that Blankie, unlike so many other exquisite possessions that we acquire throughout our lives, would be used and appreciated even if that use proved detrimental to her beauty.
No matter where we went, I always wrapped Blankie around the baby Annabelle. Once she became mobile, she carried Blankie with her, often wrapped around her head. That is how it happened that Blankie and Annabelle grew to be inseperable.
By the time Annabelle was 3, Blankie was looking very sorry indeed, so I had my cousin Julie locate New Blankie in a fancy-schmancy baby boutique in Ft. Lauderdale. I had thought that New Blankie would be a replacement for the now-called Old Blankie, but this was not to be, at least not for a couple of years. During this time, she wandered around swathed in 2 blankets--one old and disgusting, one new and beautiful.
Eventually Old Blankie got to be so fragile that she (yes, Blankie has a gender!) had to be put away in Annabelle's dresser for her own protection. This left New Blankie to bear the brunt of Annabelle's love and affection, and now New Blankie is as tattered and stained as the original. My mother and I half-joke that we will one day have to find a way to incorporate Blankie into Annabelle's bridal bouquet.
Annabelle, however, doesn't care about and in fact probably doesn't even notice Blankie's wretched state. While she no longer treats Blankie as a fashion accessory, she would never dream of going to bed without her. Blankie has been to a dozen countries, made multiple trips across 2 oceans, and spent last night in the Renaissance Hotel in Orlando. Apparently, the Renaissance agreed with Blankie, for it seems that she has decided to extend her stay an extra night.
As soon as I heard that Blankie was missing, I called the hotel and spoke with a security guard, the only person who is there to talk to half-frantic mothers on the telephone at midnight. At first he suggested that I contact lost-and-found in the morning, but when I explained to him how potentially tragic this could be, he agreed to go in search of Blankie. He called me back 20 minutes later with the happy news that Blankie has been located and "secured for the evening" (his words, not mine).
There was true rejoicing, and I marveled at how big my baby girl is getting to be that she can face going to bed without Blankie for the first time since she was 6 weeks old. I promise you though--we will have Blankie back in our hands by noon tomorrow.
Blankie, for all its skanky raggedness, is actually New Blankie. Annabelle received the original Blankie as a gift from my friend Eleanor shortly after she was born. An extravagently expensive, impractical concoction of fine handkerchiefs and the softest flannel on earth, Blankie was the kind of baby present that one could receive only from somebody who had both no children and exceptionally fine taste. I was determined that Blankie, unlike so many other exquisite possessions that we acquire throughout our lives, would be used and appreciated even if that use proved detrimental to her beauty.
No matter where we went, I always wrapped Blankie around the baby Annabelle. Once she became mobile, she carried Blankie with her, often wrapped around her head. That is how it happened that Blankie and Annabelle grew to be inseperable.
By the time Annabelle was 3, Blankie was looking very sorry indeed, so I had my cousin Julie locate New Blankie in a fancy-schmancy baby boutique in Ft. Lauderdale. I had thought that New Blankie would be a replacement for the now-called Old Blankie, but this was not to be, at least not for a couple of years. During this time, she wandered around swathed in 2 blankets--one old and disgusting, one new and beautiful.
Eventually Old Blankie got to be so fragile that she (yes, Blankie has a gender!) had to be put away in Annabelle's dresser for her own protection. This left New Blankie to bear the brunt of Annabelle's love and affection, and now New Blankie is as tattered and stained as the original. My mother and I half-joke that we will one day have to find a way to incorporate Blankie into Annabelle's bridal bouquet.
Annabelle, however, doesn't care about and in fact probably doesn't even notice Blankie's wretched state. While she no longer treats Blankie as a fashion accessory, she would never dream of going to bed without her. Blankie has been to a dozen countries, made multiple trips across 2 oceans, and spent last night in the Renaissance Hotel in Orlando. Apparently, the Renaissance agreed with Blankie, for it seems that she has decided to extend her stay an extra night.
As soon as I heard that Blankie was missing, I called the hotel and spoke with a security guard, the only person who is there to talk to half-frantic mothers on the telephone at midnight. At first he suggested that I contact lost-and-found in the morning, but when I explained to him how potentially tragic this could be, he agreed to go in search of Blankie. He called me back 20 minutes later with the happy news that Blankie has been located and "secured for the evening" (his words, not mine).
There was true rejoicing, and I marveled at how big my baby girl is getting to be that she can face going to bed without Blankie for the first time since she was 6 weeks old. I promise you though--we will have Blankie back in our hands by noon tomorrow.
- If you or someone you love has a very special blanket, might I recommend the picture book Happy Blanket by Tony Ross? It's actually 2 stories that begin at either end of the book and meet in the middle when well-loved blankies save their owners from certain peril. This was a long-time library favorite of Annabelle's.
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