It's summer time in Arkansas , school is out, and the weather is beautiful-well, most of the time. We do have our share of rain and stormy weather this time of year, but in between we have wonderfully warm sunny days. The pool is open and is usually full of grandkids and their friends from mid-morning to early evening.
My four-year-old grandson has been with us for two weeks and now it is time to go home. His parents miss him and he has begun to show signs of homesickness so we are packing his bags and gathering his favorite
"Cars" cars and monster trucks in preparation for the trip home.
Since Papa has been having major hip pain, I will be driving our grandson home accompanied by his other grandmother. Since it is a four-hour drive, I prefer not to go alone and she has graciously agreed to ride along with us and help with the driving.
It has been an uneventful trip with my grandson sleeping most of the way. About twenty-five miles or less from his home, he wakes up and asks for his teddy bear. Now, you have to picture a well-worn stuffed animal that has become more than just a Teddy Bear', but a best friend, a security blanket of sorts. Only then can you get a good clear picture of the importance of this particular possession.
With the three of us looking around the loaded van, his hysteria bumps up a notch when there is no sign of the Green Teddy Bear with the monkey's voice (you can build anything at Build-A-Bear Workshop)! I can't believe that with all the packing and gathering up of toys, drinks, and snacks, we have forgotten the second most important passenger on this trip-
The Green Teddy Bear. Now my grandson is crying at the top of his lungs.
"Grannie, you've got to turn around and go back!" He pleads between hiccups.
"Oh, Baby, we can't go back now it's too far. Look, here's a froggy you can hold; he's all soft and cuddly. See how cute." I have kept this stuffed frog in the van for a year or so just for such an occasion. But, of course, he's not buying it.
"No. I want my Teddy. He's my friend!" Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
"Ok, Mick, don't cry. As soon as Grannie gets back home, I will put him in a box and mail him to you. How's that?" I'm grasping at straws now.
"No, Grannie, that won't work. Our mailbox is too small!" WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
By now, his other grandmother and I are hiding our laughter behind coughs. We are amazed at how quick his mind was to grasp the notion that a Teddy Bear in a box would never fit their mailbox.
I'm ashamed to say that I left to come home allowing (although I didn't lie to him) him to believe that I would go home and promptly make a return trip with the bear in the van. I did, however, go to the post office first thing this morning and was assured that the bear would be there tomorrow. Should the Postal Service fail me, I will be going to the mall and then make another four-hour drive to Russellville.
