Well Loved

Most children have a certain something that they love, an item that soothes when the going gets tough. It may be a blanket, thumb, pacifier, stuffed animal or doll.

My oldest had a beanie baby that her aunt Sharon gave her when she was just a baby. My second would suck on her two fingers, and to this day when stressed, if you know what to look for, you can see her hand rush to her face--then stop.

My third had a blanket his grandmother made and I mended and remended a number of times over the years. His future wife kept it safe for him while he was gone for two years serving a mission for our church.

My fourth child carried a quilt my grandmother made, it had embroidered panels of the three kittens on the yellow and brown pieced top.

My fifth had a soft blanket with perfect corners that he loved to suck on, trying to get that thing away from him to wash it was quite the act.

My youngest had a blanket that fell into shreds. He would take the shreds and wrap them around his wrists--that was just a bit worrysome.

While visiting with my oldest the last few weeks I saw the children dragging around the most well loved doll the world has ever seen. The face looks dirty from being almost worn off, the hands are threadbare and the ribbons are now sheer.

My son in law was preparing for an extended business trip and my daughter was stressed. Soon I noticed that worn out pink doll in her hands, she was rubbing the ribbons as she has done since she was a baby. As we talked about "Pinky" we remarked that this is about the 4th doll she has had--all exactly the same.

My granddaughter has just spent the last 15 minutes looking for that little pink doll, she might find it in her mother's bed, being snuggled by her sister. It is time to go to the old doll shopping place, ebay, to see if there is one last doll out there, that is where we found this one.

Each of us has a certain thing, memory or place that we can go to that will bring us solace during tough times. For my daughter it is her pink doll. For my grandson it is his stuffed dog, for my grandmother it was her scriptures.

Where do you turn for peace??