In a dark, dusty corner of an attic sits an old beat up teddy bear. His once beautiful, soft fur is now tangled and dirty. He sits there with many untold secrets and long forgotten memories.
When Teddy was new he was soft and cuddly with a big shiny red bow that was tied around his neck. Teddy was given to a two year old boy. The boy loved Teddy and took hin everywhere. Teddy went to the playground where he swang on the swings, slid down the sliding board, and would bop any girl that tried to give the boy cooties. Teddy did not mind, because teddy bears cannot get cooties. They went to the grocery store and Teddy always took the blame for sneaking in the chocolate cookies in the shopping cart without complaint. Yet Mom always seemed to know it was the boy.
He even went to school with the boy. One rainy, yucky day Teddy and the boy went to preschool as usual. But that day was different. That was finger paint day. Teddy bears can do a lot, but teddy bears cannot finger paint, it is far too messy for them. So Teddy went into the dark, musty cubby that smelled of forgotten snacks. The boy loved to finger paint; he loved the feel of the ooey gooey, slimy paint. At the end of the day the boy was so excited about painting two whole pictures he ran off to show his mommy. While poor, poor Teddy remained at the bottom of the big, dark scary cubby. Later that night, the boy could not find his dear teddy bear. So, Mommy and Daddy went storming through the house, turning it upside down to try and find his beloved bear. "Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaah!" he pouted. "I want my Teddy!" the tiny voice thundered. "NOW!" the boy demanded, with his arms folded across his chest. Meanwhile, back in the pitch black, disgusting rat hole of a cubby, Teddy sat hunched against the wall, quiet, lonely and very afraid. This was the first night he had ever been apart from the boy. Unfortunatly, the boy got careless now and then, so it would not be the last time. When morning came, the boy, with tears rolling off his cheeks, dashed into the cubby and ripped the gentle bear out of his cubby and hugged the teddy bear so hard that Teddy thought the stuffing was going to burst out. Then they went to a small, carpeted section of the room and took a nap because they hadn't slept very well the night before.
That was just one of their many adventures. When the boy could love teddy bears. When the boy was just a boy and not a man. Before Teddy was banished to the rusty, creaky attic. But Teddy sits up there with a crooked smile on his old battered face. He is not afraid, like when he was in the cubby. For Teddy knows that he was loved and, maybe deep into the man's heart, still is. And that is all it takes to make a teddy bear happy. |
