‘Giggles’ the Lost Teddy Bear

It was the oddest thing…one of the fondest Teddy Bears that my wife has adopted… had up and left home. He was no where to be found. Both my wife and I had looked high and low for the little creature.

His physical description is as follows. He is brown in colour. He sits about 8 inches high – stands at 12 inches. He is normally quiet until you squeeze some part of his body…at which he begins to speak to you…asking a question of the ‘squeezer’. He giggles and asks the ‘squeezer’, “Can you find my…hand?” or “Can you find my…foot?” or some other parts of his little body.

For over 5 years now he has been part of the ‘Bedroom Collection’ of adopted Teddy Bears. That part of the Teddy Bear family has grown into the bedroom we share with them. There wasn’t enough room for them in other parts of the house so they moved into our room.

I call this little guy, “Giggles.” When grandkids have come to stay he has been a favourite of the youngest ones. Early in the morning they slip into Grandma’s bed and snuggle cold toes. Then Grandma will reach over for “Giggles” and he will begin his interaction. Grandma listens for the next fifteen minutes or so, “Can you find my…?” Then if the correct limb or body part is squeezed Giggles says, “You’re so smart!” or if the squeezer gets the wrong body part, Giggles says, “No silly, that’s my…” and he then he names the correct body part that the squeezer tried.

Giggles is smart and never misses. His wisdom makes small boys with cold toes in Grandma’s bed, giggle and sometime assert, “My turn, my turn… Grandma it’s my turn… he won’t let me have a turn…” New squeezers take turns and the giggling starts all over.

Did I tell you that my wife likes Teddy Bears? You may guess that is so when you see our fully loaded bathroom…loaded with just under two hundred little and medium sized Teddy Bears.

But out of all the Teddy Bears only “Giggles” can talk and interact with early morning grandsons and with one fun loving granddaughter.

Giggles was gone. Sheesh…it was not a good day. Somewhere, somehow he had slipped away. Before the day was over, Alida had checked and double checked ever nook and cranny of the favourite spots that Giggles might be found.

All six grandkids were now suspects in a major, growing, possible Teddy Bear kidnapping ring. Even some adult friends that had attended party functions at our home were added to the possible suspects… but neither of us voiced it out loud…ahem.

The UNTHINKABLE was beginning to creep into our thoughts… It was not a possible Teddy Bear picnic capper that had taken Giggles…it was our own memory problems that were taking a toll. Not just one of us had forgotten where Giggles was placed or who might have re-arranged his person…both of us had forgotten at the same time.

Yikes… TWO GROWING OLD PEOPLE… with “slip slidin’ away” memory issues, living in the same house together. TWO GROWING OLD PEOPLE…entering the stage that each day becomes a possible Christmas time…discovering gifts that we bought last month and had forgotten where we put them…or that we had bought them. TWO GROWING OLD PEOPLE…always looking for their car keys which hide in different coat pockets or on different shelves…or in the door lock outside. Yikes TWO GROWING OLD PEOPLE… Oh Boy…

If that dumb T Bear had just stayed in the same place he was last month…we wouldn’t be facing this predicament now.

Alida had slipped in under the covers. Since mid afternoon she had looked for Giggles everywhere. Now she was just too tired to care. Her memory was not what it had been early in the day…the “slip slidin’ away” memory.

Without Alida knowing I had been looking for the little guy as well. Quietly I had scanned the whole room and the bathroom and the laundry room and even my garage! Sometime Teddy Bears need to be fixed and they will come to Grandpa’s Workshop for different internal major surgeries. Sometimes grandkids will smuggle them out to play with when grandma isn’t looking. I had squeezed paw after paw for the last hour….but no luck.

It was 12:45 AM and Alida had faded already. I reached up and took the little paw of the small, brown Teddy Bear. He was sitting on top of the old book case/desk in the bedroom. I squeezed and immediately he giggled and asked, “Can you find my paw?” I squeezed again and he giggled again, “You’re so smart, can you find my nose?”

Alida sat bolt upright from her sleep and asked, “Where is he?” I squeezed one more time …this time his nose… and Giggles responded, “Can you find my foot?” and I did and then he said…”You’re so smart…can you find my tummy?”

We laughed until 1:00 AM. I looked up and told the Bear to go to sleep.

Now this is nuts… you have spent time reading 853 words to this point of the Blog… WHY?

I have shared one simple, marital secret that has held us closely together for 40 years and six months – “a happy heart is good medicine”. For these year together we have laughed, we have cried and we have sat quietly wondering where the dickens the Teddy Bear has gone…but through it all we are happy…so very happy.

Around us at times there is usually a swirl of pain and deadly human, toxic, attitudinal waste. This weekend another couple we know have witnessed their deep love for each other be blown out the window of despair. What was to be a deep and heart felt marriage this next summer is a smudge of bad memories. Really bad attitudes surfaced and selfishness was made King and Queen… and it was over.

God… I hate these moments of despair and deluge that takes such a toll on life.

Here is the “mini devotional thought” for today… when was the last time you and your wife/husband/partner/significant other – laughed together? Are you in love? If you are, have you told the one that you love… that you really love them?

I grabbed the Teddy Bear’s paw one more time and he asked me this morning, “Can you find my ear?” I did. He giggled and told me, “You’re so smart…! Can you find my foot?”

I am going to hang a few more thoughts on the fact that TWO GROWING OLD PEOPLE…are having their last years of fun together… soon enough it will be over for one of us… but for now…”You’re so smart…. Can you find me?”

~ Pastor Murray and Alida Lincoln ~