Weekend Assignment #155

John Scalzi, Blogfather, offers us this:

Weekend Assignment #155: Recount a distinctively childish thing you did (or your children did) when you or they were children. Because things like painting your hands pink, or trying to make chocolate milk with mud, or arranging a marriage between your stuffed animals? Not something you're likely to do when you're older.

Extra Credit: The name of your favorite stuffed animal growing up.

So many silly things come to mind!  How do I pick just one!

One Christmas comes to mind.  I received a blue pants suit, in all its 1970-something polyester glory.  Even though it was a light blue, in my 7 or 8 year old mind, so this was '72-73, I decided it was very nurse-like.  

All the grown ups were yakking and no kids had yet to arrive at the house.  I was an only child (until Kathy moved in when I was 17), and a whole slew of cousins popped in and out all day, but this year, no one must have been coming until later.

I disappeared into my room and began work.  I made a sign out of cardboard from presents opened earlier in the day.  The sign was on white, and I wrote FIRST AID in big black letters with a big red cross underneath.  

I raided the bathroom for bandaids and an ace bandage.  I donned my nurse-like light blue polyester pants suit.

I marched downstairs. 

I give my parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles credit, as I don't remember them laughing in my face.  

I marched over to my Uncle Larry (my dad's brother), and proclaimed him injured.  He was always great about playing along and doing anything I wanted.  I wrapped his arm up in the ace bandage, and placed bandaids wherever I could.  I think I kept at it with a bandaid on everyone for a few hours!

My parents even got pictures of this... someday, I may show you all!  LOL

I remember that I had just read two biographies, Florence Nightengale and Clara Barton, and I am sure that is what spurred me on!  

Extra Credit: 

My favorite stuffed animal was the teddy bear that my grandma gave me when I was born.  His name.... Teddy!  No, not very imaginative, but I think my parents started the name before I could speak and it just stuck.  I still have him!  And, he makes the Velveteen Rabbit look good, if you get my drift, but I don't care.  I loved that bear and still do!

My kids have been a little more original with stuffed animal names. 

Hammer's is a bear named Mr. Bear.  If you remember on the tv show Full House, which was huge in the early 90's, one of the girls had a bear of the same name.  My mom and dad gave Hammer that bear before he was born, and it is still up in his bed.

Fuzzy has many animals that he likes to sleep with.  As a baby, he loved this giant Mickey Mouse and always laid it next to him.  Then, the Batman phase began.  More on that later this week for his birthday entry.  He slept with Batman from around ages 3 until 7.  Then came Iggy the Iguana.  He is multi-colored and wears sunglasses.  Very cool.

Pumpkin had a pink stuffed bear from her brothers when she was born that she slept with until she was three years old.  He was named Pinky.  Then, we went to Mystic Seaport where she fell in love with the beluga whales.  She clamored to get out of her stroller and when she did it was so cute... she pressed up against the big glass tank and waved and waved each time they passed. 

So, of course, we bought the biggest stuffed white beluga whale in the gift shop that we could find.  She named him Snowy and he (her choice of gender, too) has been her constant bedtime companion since that day!

I am off to snuggle up with my cat, since Hubby is away!

be well,
Dawn

Tags: John Scalzi, By the Way, Weekend Assignment, childhood memories, stuffed animals