Monday, December 17, 2007

Dis bear needs surgery!

Last night I was tidying my room while 2 year old Elsa reigned from my bed. I came across my very old Teddy bear who had lost his nose to a puppy ever so many years ago. Sadly he was losing his head too as the stitching around his neck was loose. Quite some time ago, Gabriela had promised to repair him and now he badly needed even more repair than he had the day she promised this. I picked him up and watched as his head flipped backward and his gaping wound exposed his internal stuffing.

Mournfully I showed him to Elsa and commented on how Gabriela, her God Mother, had not yet made good on her promise. I placed him gently on my pillow and Elsa stared at him for a moment before carefully picking him off. She slipped off my bed with the bear cradled in her arms and quietly disappeared. I wondered what she intended to do with my almost decapitated bear.

I shrugged my shoulders and leaned back into the task at hand. Getting the coal off of my stocking on the dining room wall, and until my room was clean - there it would remain with all of my children's stockings bearing brightly coloured candy canes that marked how many days their rooms had been clean. A few moments later I heard the patter of Elsa's feet on the stairs and when I stepped into the hallway to stuff used paper into garbage the bag there, I greeted her as she entered. She looked at me and with the bear still clasped to her bosom she announced solemnly; "Dis bear needs surgery!"

"Oh!" I replied, hiding a smile. " "Who says?" I asked.

"Me!" She paused a second or two and then added, "and Gabiela!"

She marched into her older sister's bedroom and I watched her expecting the bear to be lovingly placed on her sister's bed, to await his much needed surgery. To my shock she carelessly flung the bear onto the bed and swung around to return to her throne in my room. Surgery had been promised and there was little doubt in her mind that her God Mother would follow through so therefor, I guess, the bear no longer required her assistance and her job was complete.

And she was right, later that evening neck firmly stitched up, nose still missing, my Teddy was gently placed back on his throne - my pillow. Elsa inspected him and was content. Mummy's bear was well again.

1 comment:

Lorcan said...

Genie and I are bear folks. Genie and I both have good sized Gund bears, hers, Wallace is rather a homebody. Mine, Frankalums, has traveled up and down the West coast of Ireland with my ocean rowing team. He was going to go to England, for a friend's child, by motor cycle, so Frankalums had a leather flier's hat and goggles such as were worn in WWI. He also had a crew members T-shirt, silk-screened just for him. The friend did not show up to collect Frankalums, so after so long traveling with the team, getting named, having adventures with us, we sent a Raggedy Anne to England instead. Frankalums is rather forgiving, when introduced to the grandaunt of one of our rowers in Portnue, Donnigal, by that rower, "here is Lorcan and Genie, PJ and Frankalums the Bear..." the grandaunt responded ... with a look of disgust, "Whar-did ye git tha' sally thing?" Greg, the rower blushed rather deeply, but Frankalums just regarded the whole embarrassing moment with fore-bear-ence and calm good nature.
Good recovery to thy bear
lor