The toys I'll never give up.

I have toys. I recently came across the question, "what toys would you never give up?"

Because of an early childhood admission, most of my toys are bears. (I like bears.)

I have multiples - stuffed, plastic, glass, smaller plastic, wood, super-stuffed, oversized, teeny-weeny...all kinds of bears. I counted them once. I couldn't believe how high the number was. Most of them were birthday or Christmas gifts, as well as a few non-holiday gifts from my Mom, who, whenever she saw one at a reasonable price, would hold it up and say "you LOVE it, don't you?"

What could I say? Of course I did.

Anyway, one bear in particular comes to mind when I think of the ones I would never give up. You see, most of the bears carry some sort of significant affectionate memory along with them, but this bear carries the most.

His name is Jack. Underneath the wear of years, he's fluffy, white, and entirely huggable.

He used to be kind of pudgy, but nearly two decades of being hugged and slept on has thinned him out. His eyes are kind as ever. He's been bathed in tears, dragged across the floor, torn, and patched up with crooked stitches. I've used him as a pillow, and as a blanket when my real cover fell off the bed. (He's small, but he did his very best.)  He has a lot of wisdom for a bear. He can listen for days and never get a bored look in his gentle eyes.

So, he is a toy I could never give up. The reason I could never give him up is that to me, Jack is so much more than merely a toy. I could never let him go... ;)