Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The things we love...


Say hi to my brother's Ben's teddy, Teddy. Don't ask me why he lives with me, somehow I became his surrogate carer. I'm happy I am because he is so gorgeous and he reminds me of my brother who lives a long way away. Teddy was loved so passionately by Ben that he had to have surgery to remove his foot. Ben would 'foof' it so much that it pretty much disintegrated.  All around his little face too are signs of that long ago 'foofing', when Ben was a boy.


This is Little Ted. He belonged to my first boyfriend, Ant ( Antony).
When Ant died at 19 I was lucky enough to adopt Little Ted. He is a daily reminder of a beautiful person who died too early, who remains forever in my heart. I know that he loved this little bear,
when he was little and somehow that is a comfort to me, and brings me closer to someone I will always miss.


When I was a little girl my greatest love was Floppy. She is still with me and when I found her yesterday in the Trunk of Memories, she still made my heart skip a beat. She is a funny looking old thing, very low on stuffing and wonky of eye, but boy is she adorable.


She has the cutest little pink swan hair clip, a jumpsuit with animals on it and a fabulous dressing gown with a tiny pocket. I used to tear up tissues to make her own mini tissue and pop it in that pocket. I cuddled her at night, talked to her, told her all my secrets. She loved me back and kept me safe. Oh....Floppy.


There was also a lovely little doggie who I adored. Snowball, see above. She has really dynamic personality and we went on many adventures together. Floppy stayed home and minded the fort. I've always been partial to dogs with whiskers..I have Snowball to thank for that.


When Sunday was a baby we gave her a green teddy from the Poppy Shop, in Carlton. She grabbed that Teddy and never let him go. She cuddled him so much his fur all rubbed off.


So we bought another, and another. This was also helpful as there were a few occasions when she misplaced him and oh boy, the night is long when a teddy is missing.


She also had her own branded of 'foofing', a kind of sucking the thumb and twiddling arrangement that created holes in her teddy's ears. Teddy No.1 became Hole Ted.


When Lucy was about one we went to Kmart for some pre Christmas shopping. On the way out she grabbed a teddy that was in a big box of mixed toys. Being the total sucker I am we took the teddy along to the check out where the assistant told us she wasn't on the stock list. Someone had left her behind. Teddy was put in a brown paper bag and sent away to wait for a month to see if she was claimed. During that time I forgot all about her until I got a call from the shop.


"Your teddy is waiting for you"
Excitement! Lucy opened up her present on Christmas day and there she was. Her pre loved, forgotten teddy.And he's been with us ever since. Even I like to have a cuddle of Teddy, she is pretty special.

And they all are. All the toys that our family have loved over the years. Char had a Panda with one eye, Bill had a Captain Feathersword, I'm sure Mark had a beloved bear too. And Rosie has Lucky, the op shopped hound dog from Woodend.

I love the way these creatures of comfort are so meaningful, the way they bring us happiness, memories, friendship and love. Do you have someone special in your life? I know some of you do as you told me in my giveaway post. I had so much fun reading about the dolls and toys of your childhood.

That's all from me today folks,
time to skedaddle out the door for school pick up.
Hope your week is travelling along happily,
see you soon, lovely ones xo

14 comments:

Sue said...

Beck what wonderful toys full of wonderful memories for you. It must have been a very hard time for you when you were young and your boyfriend passed away at such a young age. I dont think you ever get over something like that, but you are lucky that you have a wonderful thing he treasured to remind you of him. It seems that bears are the order of the day in your photos. I had a panda that I loved and Lachlan my son had a teddy bear called Jack that slept on his bed until he was 11. I dont know what happened to that bear come to think of it, must go looking!

Jodie said...

beck, what a great post. When Jem was a baby she had a wee bird called tired bird. 21yrs on, he still lives here.

Jane said...

Oh those dear, dear well-loved things! They are surely 'real' by Velveteen Rabbit standards.

Kate said...

As little girls we all had toys we slept with but for some reason mine don't. I mean they all do sleep with teddies butI think they are interchangeable. The other day my sister gave Miss Pepper a monkey (grumpy John) and she hasn't put him down until today when we got the puppy. I'm hopeful that he's the one true love teddy.
And my teddy in the purple dress still lives. He's a bit worn but the best ones are. xx

teddybearswednesday said...

A beautiful wonderful post, a post after my own heart.
I love all your dear dear special loyal friends.
how lucky are we to have such loyal unconditional friends.
xo
PS when I travel I have to take at least one of my old boys

Jenny M said...

Your story of finding the teddy in Kmart that someone had left behind, reminded me of when my daughter lost her teddy when she was 3 yrs old. Then one day on our monthly visit to the Health Sister to have No.2 child checked over there in the toy box at the centre was the missing teddy. The poor thing had suffered some rough treatment while away from home and he had to be sent off to the Doll Hospital to be fixed. He now sits in our daughter's bedroom waiting for her to return home from her overseas travels.

Floss said...

What lovely friends! I did a post likr this years ago, about my Teddy and Grey Rabbit, and the boys' toys too... you've really taken me back. Son 1's Donkey Blue was muck 'foofed' as you put it, and was constantly mended until he got a real dog. Within days, the toy went on the shelf as a happy memory, and hasn't been essential since. However, Son 2, the 13year old, loves his three toys, one of whom was rescued from the riverbank covered in green slime. Several hot washes later, I deemed her fit for hugging and she is now his third favourite toy! Thanks for this lovely post.

Maria Rose said...

Treasures! We too have a stash. My hubby has a panda that is duct taped together.

Grace said...

Great stories!

flowerpress said...

Just love this post Beck :-)
What a bunch of treasures they are!

Alma Boheme said...

Beck this was a lovely post full of childhood memories! Just wanted to stop by to let you know how much we all love Bluebell and so happy to have her home. I mentioned your blog here http://almaboheme.blogspot.com/
Many warm hugs from my family to yours.
Happy teddy dreams!

Manda said...

how nice Beck..i had a giant panda that my dad gave me when i was about 4, hes out in the shed...i cant get rid of him but hes too crusty to have in the house. i love the thought that my dad bought a panda for his manda. my girls have their bedtime friends. vedas was a horse, who was her best friend for years, and who she still loves, but has kicked out of her bed, and amelie has a big floppy dog..he keeps her safe at night.
your teddies and their stories are just gorgeous...especially the weird but beautiful looking one with the swan clip....and the tiny tissues...something my girls would do...x

Alethea Yoris said...

helloo,
i'm Thea from indonesia.
i found your blog when i search key word 'dandelion'
love your header blog :')

and the toys memories me about my childhood. too sweet to remember :')
nice post


Cheers,
Thea

Anonymous said...

thankyou Beck-guildthelilly here. Our ragged soulful stuffed friends have such a strong place in our lives-thanks for the tribute :-)